Naruto Shippuuden 18: A Time To Be Born
by rylansato
Summary: War with Akatsuki on the horizon, Tsunade can't thin the lines of her shinobi. But when a battlefield that was thought to be long lost appears. This ninja graveyard holds a deadly secret, forcing Junshin to make a hard decision that will endanger the team
1. The Lake

Naruto Shippuuden: A Time to Be Born

A very beautiful girl of about twenty stood in a field of orange and crimson wildflowers. She had dark brown hair, and two different color eyes. One was red and the other green. She wore a black sleeveless shirt with a dirty, green unzipped Jonin vest over it. Her brown cargo style pants came down to her ankle and her feet were covered by her black boots. The tails of a Leaf forehead protector billowed in the wind from the back of her head. She rested her hands on the handles of the two black bladed sai that hung from her loose fitting belt. The belt hugged her hip on her right side but drooped on her left. It was still high enough for her to rest her hands on the weapon's handles. She closed her eyes and allowed the wind to consume her. Her mind, however, wasn't at as ease as her body projected. Now matter how hard she tried, she could never be at ease. Not with the past they way it was.

She hated how the world had turned into this. The world was a damn near desolate wasteland.

_Damn Konoha. Damn Akatsuki. Damn the whole ninja world._

A figure appeared behind her. He was almost twice her age. He had black hair that hung down in the front on both sides of his face and slightly spiky in the back. A forehead protector with a large scratch through the middle of it wrapped around his head. He wore black pants with a short sleeve unbuttoned blue shirt. He placed a friendly hand on the girl's shoulder.

"What is it, Sasuke?" She asked.

"It's time to go, Hitomi."

Hitomi sighed and did the seal of the Tiger.

"Release."

The beautiful field of flowing orange and crimson, the wind, the trees in the distance, even the sounds of birds all faded away into a desert like area. The field of wildflowers had turned into sand, the trees in the distance were still there only uprooted, destroyed and rotting. There were no animal sounds from any sort of living creature. The wind was still there only it was more violent, hurtful, and non soothing. Hitomi turned to Sasuke.

"Now, that I'm done with my training. Will I be able to go anywhere?" She asked.

"Yes. But I warn you that this new technique will tempt you to do more than observe." Sasuke warned. "You will be able to go to any place you wish to go. Any time or place is completely open to you."

Sasuke noticed Hitomi thinking in her head just by the look on her face. He didn't need his Sharingan to know who she wanted to meet.

"Shall we go?" He said extending his hand out, waiting for her to take it.

Hitomi placed her hand into his. The young woman felt swept away as they disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving behind another ghostly area ravaged by war.

To Hitomi's surprise, she was in an area full of people. She looked up to see four large heads carved into the side of the cliffface. She was in Konoha, but it was the past. She had never seen this side of Konoha before. She rather enojoyed it. She turned around to her teacher but he wasn't there.

"Sasuke?"

She looked all around her for him but he was gone. She then felt a tug on her vest. She looked down to see a young boy no older than four with the same style haircut as her teacher's.

"Did you want something, miss?" The young Sasuke asked.

"Oh no, I'm sorry. I was looking for someone else older than me with the same name." She said.

A look of confusion spread across the young Uchiha's face but he smiled and gave Hitomi the impression that he understood before running off. Then she heard crying. She turned in the direction and saw a small girl in an alleyway, out of the way of everyone else, croutched down crying. Concerned, she ran over to the girl and knelt down to her level.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"It broke." The girl lowered her hands from her face and looked up at Hitomi with tear fulled blue eyes. Regardless of the tear filled eyes, Hitomi was able to see that the girl's eyes weren't entirely blue. In fact, they had some red to them as well.

"What broke?"

"My bubble. It broke."

"Maybe you can make another one." Hitomi said studying the child. She looked about six years old with dark hair. The girl stopped crying and looked as if she just realized something.

"You're right. I can make a new one." She said sniffling back her tears and runny nose. Hitomi stood up and the girl gazed up at her with a flirtatious smile. "You're pretty. I like your eyes."

"Thank you." Hitomi said placing a gentle hand on the girl's head.

They turned and walked out of the alleyway.

"Yukino!" A voice called.

Hitomi and her small companion looked ahead to see a woman that was the age of Hitomi's teacher, waving. The girl looked up to Hitomi.

"My mom is calling me I have to go."

Hitomi knelt down to Yukino's eye level. "Don't forget to make another bubble." She said with friendly smile.

"I will." Yukino said running off.

Hitomi stood up as she watched the girl run off to her mother. She felt a familiar presence at her side. "Who's that?" She asked without turning to him.

"Your mother." Sasuke replied. "She was six at this point in time. She hasn't yet chosen the path that will unite you." Sasuke gazed at the departing child. "I wanted you to see that she was a normal person from a normal background. She's unexceptional except for what she becomes later on in life. But we don't want to stay here too long. We don't want to interfere."

"I know," Hitomi said, fully understanding the taboos associated with going into the past. People who had this ability tried to avoid affecting the lives of those they observed in the present. Only in dire emergencies did they even dare interfere. To change events in the past was unforgivable, considering the unexpected consequences that might result. They would no more use their focus to change the past than to commit murder. Possessing great power and knowing how to use it sparingly were the ultimate goals of their existence.

"Now that you know this technique, there is one more trial. It may be trivial, it may be terrifying, we have no control over what you see. You must gaze into the Lake."

"The Lake?" Hitomi asked.

"A tool that a few others and I created as a final task in knowing the technique that you now possess. Although we have created it, we have no control over what it shows. It will show you a piece of the past that is someway connected to you."

"I'll do it." She said.

Sasuke placed a hand on her shoulder and in a cloud of smoke they were gone from Konoha's past.

Hitomi opened her eyes again to see that she was standing on a dock. Sasuke was standing behind her. Hitomi leaned forward and gazed into the inky surface. He saw an image dance across the water and finally become clear. It was Konoha. It wasn't the Konoha that she had just visited but a Konoha of the past none the less. She could see people throughout the streets although they weren't moving. They were all lying on the ground either dead or dying. Then four eruptions of lightning shot skyward from four corners of the village. Her eyes widened.

"Limelight!"

Then suddenly everything within the limelight's area, was destroyed. The Lake glowed like a sun going nova. She plunged her hands into the murky water and the image disappeared.

"What can I do? How can I save them?"

That was like asking, "What is zero subtracted from zero?" There would never be anything she could do to save them, because she was just a witness. With shock, Hitomi realized that every trial she had suffered during her training had only been to prepare her for this moment. If she could resist misusing her technique now, she would pass this trial. That felt more like a curse than a comfort.

Even though this was all in the past, she never knew how Konoha's end came to be. Crouching by the Lake, the Kunoichi buried her face in her hands and wept for her dead parents, fallen comrades, and lost innocence.


	2. The Mission

Konoha was exceptionally lively today. Satori sat in the Ichiraku Ramen shop with Naruto and Sakura. He hadn't seen them in what had seem like weeks and wanted to hang out with them for a short bit. Satori could tell that Naruto wasn't in the greatest of moods seeming how he just found out that his teacher, Jiraiya, was killed by the Akatsuki leader, Pein. The three of them just sat there eating ramen. Sakura seemed to fair the best out of the three of them, physically and mentally. Satori was still slightly recovering from his battle with the Akatsuki familiars and Naruto was slightly depressed.

"So, you're leaving tomorrow to go train with the frog guy, right?" Satori asked.

"Yep. I'm going to become stronger than ever. And when I do that I'm going to kick Akatsuki's ass, dattebayo."

Satori wasn't sure if Naruto was in a slightly better mood thinking that or if he was even more ticked off. He could never tell when it came to his enthusiasm. Hell, he could've been both.

"How's Yukino doing?" Sakura asked.

Satori spit out his drink at the sudden question by the Kunoichi.

"Uh, uh, wha, what do you mean by that?" Satori stammered.

Sakura gave Satori a very perplexed look.

"Uh, nothing. Just wondering how she is doing. Haven't got to really talk to her much lately." Sakura said.

Satori let out a small, undetected sigh of relief. He and Yukino had decided to keep Yukino's pregnancy a secret until the time was right. They haven't even told their parents.

"Oh, she's good. The usual. Nothing new is going on with her. Good same ol' Yukino." Satori said with hint of shakiness in his voice.

"And what about you, Satori? How's that shoulder?"

"Oh, I'm good. The usual. Nothing new going on with me. Good same ol' me." Satori said with the same amount of shakiness in his voice as earlier.

Sakura didn't understand what was up with Satori. She just shrugged it off went back to her food. Satori did the same. He was almost done with his food when he felt a presence behind him. He knew exactly who it was. He lifted his his head up and didn't even look back.

"Look Shizune, it's a damn good thing that I get to eat at least a little bit before I'm summoned by the Fifth to go on some important mission. If I didn't I'd be very upset and hungry." He said turning around in his seat.

"The Fifth requests your presence." Shizune said.

"Oh come on. Naruto and Sakura are here." Satori said with a smile. He knew that Naruto couldn't go on this mission because of his training. "She should send them this time." Satori hopped off his stool and patted Naruto on the shoulder. "Nah, I'm kidding. You take care of yourself during your training. And Sakura, don't beat him up too badly while I'm gone. Hey, old man. Put this on my tab. Whatever they want." He said pointing to the two of them.

"All right." The ramen shop owner said.

Satori wasn't even out of the shop yet when he heard Naruto finish his bowl and ask for seconds.

_He's gonna take full advantage of that one._

Meanwhile, a figure stood in front of Tsunade wearing full ANBU gear. Tsunade rested her elbows on her desk and hid the lower part of her face behind her clasped hands.

"This isn't an ANBU mission, so you'll be dressed normally and won't have a mask."

The ANBU member removed his mask to reveal his face to the Hokage.

"Am I going to be in charge of this group?"

"No. Aoba will be. The reason I pulled you from ANBU for the time being is becaue I need somebody with your abilities to be on the squad. I'm going to give you the code name: Kusa Seika. Dismissed."

Seika nodded and leapt away. Seconds later, there was a knock on the door.

"Come." Tsunade said.

The door opened and it was Shizune and Satori. Satori didn't look like he cared to much to be there. Tsunade couldn't really blame him due to the fact that him and his team just got back from their mission and he lost a close friend during the mission too.

"You rang, Tsunade-sama?"

"Yes, I did. Aoba will be leading a team." Tsunade lifted up a paper and read from it. "The team roster is you, Yohaku Junshin, Uzuki Hanako, Sohma Yukino, Shiranui Tenten, Zaihou Gintokin and Kusa Seika."

"Who and who?" Satori asked.

"Zaihou Gintokin and Kusa Seika are two people that I have picked for this mission. Gintokin is nineteen and Seika is from ANBU."

"So, why are you telling me the roster when you should tell Aoba-sensei?" Satori asked.

"Because you are second in command of the team and I want you to gather the team. Seika has already been informed and will be at the gates at the scheduled time."

"Ok, so what is the mission?" Satori asked moving his senbon up and down in his mouth.

"I'm sending a team to an island of the southern coast of the Fire country. The name of the island is Soukutsu." Tsunade saw Satori's eyes widen. "You seem to know of the island." She said.

"I have. If memory serves, it where a famous battle of the Second Great Ninja war took place. No one survived the battle from either side but no bodies were found either. Which raises many questions to the story itself."

"We've gotten reports of bodies lying all over island as if there was a recent battle between the five major countries." Tsunade said. "I want you to go and confirm it. Once confirmed I'll send more teams to recover the bodies to give a proper burial."

"Doesn't the island reside in Mist territory?"

"It does but they really don't pay any mind to island itself because they say it's haunted. I really wouldn't be surprised if you ran into Mist ninjas during the mission. Word of this has more than likely reached the other villages so don't be surprised if you meet ninjas there. Things should go smoothly for the most part. If there are no further questions, dismissed."

Satori nodded then left the office. Tsunade turned around in her chair and stared out the window.

_With the imminent Akatsuki threat, I really can't spare anymore ninjas for this mission. I have a feeling that we're going to be outnumbered against the other villages._


	3. The Island of Soukutsu

The eight man ninja squad stood at the gates, well more like seven of them. All of them were there except Gintokin. Satori noticed on of the new comers which was Kusa Seika. He stood about as tall as Aoba and wore the same outfit only he didn't wear a vest; his undershirt was short sleeve and he wore black arm socks leaving his elbows exposed. He had dirty blonde hair that was short but barely long enough to grab a hold of. If Satori didn't know any better, he'd swear up and down and till he was blue in the face that he looked like Shuji. They weren't waiting long before they noticed a tall swaggering ninja headed their way. He wore a black, silk shirt with gold lining along with dark grey pants with silver chains hanging from them. He wore a Katana on his side with a silver handle and hilt and the scabbard looked rusted and like a washed out gold. They all gave the new comer a folly of confused looks. He looked drunk and for all they knew, he could've been. He stumbled up to them and there was no scent of alcohol, so that relaxed the group a bit. He reached them with half closed light brown almost gold eyes.

"The name's Gintokin but I go by Kin." He said.

Aoba nodded to him. "Well, if we're all ready, then let's get go."

The group leapt into the trees on their way to the southern border of the Fire Country. Unknown to them, a pair of eyes watched them. One green and one red. She kept near the group but out of sight. The wind blew against her and it made it easier for her to go undetected.

_It's a good thing Sasuke isn't here. He'd say something along the lines of me being close to interfering. I wonder what his deal was with him not wanting to interfere with the past. He keeps saying that there would be unknown consequences._

She multitasked between her thoughts and tailing of the group from the past. She saw the older version of the girl she saw only a short time ago but to Yukino that was eleven years ago. Then she saw the ninja that was second in line. The man known as Satori. To her, known as her father. She wanted to go and speak to them so badly but she knew she couldn't. Sasuke was right when he said that she'd want to do more than just observe.

_I'll observe…for now._

Hours later, the team reached the border and found a ship waiting for them. They boarded the ship and sailed off for the haunted island of Soukutsu. The island wasn't far from the main land. A person could see it on a clear day from the beach. Except today wasn't one of those days. It was foggy, humid and sticky not to mention the smell of salt was heavy. The team from Konoha waited patiently as the ship got closer to the island. Junshin sat with Tenten against the ship's wall on its port side. He watched Satori interact with Yukino, who sat opposite to them on the starboard side. It wasn't the fact that he had nothing else to stare at but it was more how they were interacting with each other. Something was different and he wasn't sure what it was.

Satori sat next to Yukino holding her hand. Yukino rested her head on his shoulder as they waited to arrive on the island. Satori was worried that something might break out and Yukino could be injured. 

Yukino has been injured before and it scared him like no other but it was the fact that she was pregnant was what he was concerned with.

Seika leaned against the wall of the ship only feet away from Junshin and Tenten. He looked over the side of the ship and watched the water as it gave way for the ship. He wasn't sea sick or anything, bored would be more a better term for him.

Gintokin lied on the deck, sleeping. Aoba and Hanako stood at the head of the ship looking straight ahead waiting to reach the island. They were now only a hundred yards away. From their position, the island looked normal but as they got closer they could see battle damage, and it looked recent. Aoba turned and walked off. He clapped his hands together as he walked down the wooden stairs that led to the main deck.

"All right, we'll reach the island in a few minutes, so I want everyone to be ready." The other ninjas stood to their feet and sort of circled around Aoba. "Like I said before, other ninjas will be here and there may be hostilities but remember you are representing Konoha and don't start a fight."

The other ninjas nodded. The ship slowed to a crawl as it reached the side of the dock. Hanako threw a rope around a pylon and anchored the ship to the dock.

"We've reached the shore, Aoba-sensei." Hanako called.

The ninja team leapt onto the dock and stared at the island. Aoba had heard about the Battle of Soukutsu and the vast graveyard left behind that he felt as if he'd been there already, only this was their first pilgrimage. The group began their trek off the dock and onto land. Satori's lips thinned as he gazed at the mysterious graveyard, remnants of the deadliest battle of the Second Great Ninja War. Every person that took part in this engagement died. Not one single survivor limped away to tell the tale. There were stories and superstitions about this place and its legend continued to grow in the years since the end of the war. Historians had yet to figure out what had happened here, and unraveling that mystery was the only part of this mission which appealed to Satori. Normally, he wasn't eager to catalog so much death and destruction.

Aoba pulled out a scroll, set it on the ground and a hawk appeared. He wrote something in another scroll and slid it into the hawk's pouch. The bird then took to the air towards Konoha.

"Now that this place has been confirmed, let's check it out." Aoba said.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" A voice said just as they step foot on the sand.

At that point a group of Sand ninjas landed in front of them. All of them wore identical uniforms. The sand were never ones for individual style like Konoha.

"Oh?" Aoba said.

"I'm, Sabaki. I suggest you stop right there." The slightly dark skinned, dark haired female sand ninja said.

Still trying to be charming, Aoba said, "I didn't know we'd have a welcoming party. Is there some danger we don't know about."

"There are thousands of dangers you don't know about. We don't either and we've been here for a week."

"I'm curious to know why you stopped us from entering the battle site. Is there some new hazard?" Aoba asked.

"It's very simple. No one enters the boneyard without my clearance. There are usually two dozen ninjas here per village working the site at any given time. We've been deluged with imposters and even people impersonating Sand ninjas." She counted on her fingers. "We've got ninjas from Waterfall, Rock, Cloud, Sand, Mist, Haze, Star, Rain, Grass, Horizon and now Leaf. Not to mention so form of syndicates trying to loot this place. We've had found four dead scavengers and two of our own have been wounded."

"So, security is your biggest problem?" Seika asked.

Sabaki replied gravely. "Our primary mission is to recover the dead which I consider to be a sacred responsibility. I come from a lengthy ninja family. We follow the creed of 'leave no ninja behind.' We may be too late for these fallen ninjas but we're doing the best we can. The scavengers don't care and they interfere with our duty."

"How were the four scavengers killed?" Satori asked.

"You'll find that there's no shortage of ways to die here in Soukutsu. I know that Leaf ninjas can fight so you'll be a big help in keeping the scavengers off our backs. But I warn you, they don't always leave if you ask nicely, not even after a kunai is held at their throat. I'm glad that Konoha is here but you don't understand. There are things in that battle site that change the laws of physics and it changes by the second. It's not a normal graveyard. It truly is haunted. I hope you won't regret coming here."

Sabaki turned to leap away when Satori called for her. "One more question, if you please." Sabaki turned around to face the young Jonin. "How could every person at the Battle of Soukutsu be killed? Do you know?"

Sabaki sighed for a brief moment, her face showing the pain of all she had seen. "With every body we have discovered, there is evidence that they fought to the death. Energy drained, chakra gone. Surrender or retreat didn't seem to be an option for anyone. Be safe while you're here."

The Konoha squad watched as the Sand team leapt into the trees.


	4. The Mysterious Figure

Aoba crouched in the center of the squad, who had circled around him to listen in on his plan. Aoba could see that they were slightly tense and tried to make this as easy as possible. However, doing a mission that was very unpredictable as Sabaki had said could be troublesome, but now that he thought about it any mission was unpredictable.

"I don't want to send the entire team in there. So, I'm sending Satori and Junshin along with myself to investigate further, while the rest of you stay here and try to keep things secure. While we're gone, Seika will be in charge."

Seika nodded in acknowledgement and approval at his leader's choice as to who to leave in command during his absence. The sun glassed Jonin stood up and turned to his two companions that he had just drafted for this sub-mission to see Satori caress Yukino's face and Junshin give Tenten a peck on her cheek.

"Ready?"

"Yes, sir." They said.

"Let's go."

The three of them leapt into the trees and away from their group towards the dangerous graveyard. They leapt above the trees and landed on the top of a few pine trees to see a big clearing and a complete unexpected sight. The sight of bodies lying everywhere. This clearing seemed go on for miles as well as the bodies. Visible remnant chakra seemed to arch from the dead and clash with other chakra arcs. A roving web of chakra moved on and surrounded a pile of bodies. The multiple chakra spikes clashed with each other as if they were in battle as the ninjas were many years ago.

"Suggestions." Aoba said.

"I don't know, Aoba-sensei. These chakra spikes seem to be unpredictable." Satori said.

"I do have a theory." Junshin said. "Usually, chakra will dissipate when the user dies but not all of these ninjas were killed instantly, many died from wound complications or bled to death, but whatever the cause may be, their chakra could've 'leaked out' and cohered with the chakra of other dying ninjas and created these mutant spikes. It also could be the reason why this battle site appeared within these past few days, as if it disrupted the fabric of time or something like that."

"That is an interesting theory but it would be very hard to prove. However, I'd go with that. It's better than nothing." Aoba said.

It was sobering to see so much death and destruction. Aoba gazed at the sight. They jumped from the trees down to the ground, careful not to get hit by the chakra spikes. Who knows what could happen if they were to be hit by one?

_If we were in this time and participated in the Battle of Soukutsu, would we have fared any better than these others?_

Satori's eyes shot to the right. He slightly squinted in the direction, thinking he saw movement.

"Sekigan." He said as the minority purple took over the majority green. With the Sekigan he had gained from sleeping with Yukino, he was now able to use its infrared capabilities. He could also use it to see body heat. And there was someone among the dead who wasn't dead.

"Aoba-sensei, someone is playing possum." Satori said.

"Where?"

"There." Satori said pointing.

As soon as the figure saw Satori pointing in their direction, they figured the gig was up. The figure shot to his feet and sprinted away, dodging the chakra spikes. Aoba, Junshin and Satori went after the figure.

The figure ducked, dodged, and hopped over bodies and into the forest as it tried to get away from the three Leaf ninjas. Junshin got up ahead of the other two and got closer to the mysterious figure. Junshin leapt into the air onto a branch. He then used his chakra to slightly hang from his feet and he coiled himself and like a spring he shot from the branch and tackled the figure. The two went tumbling over a hill and down to the bottom. Once at the base of the hill, the figure drew a kunai but it was quickly knocked away by Junshin's boot. He had the intruder in a restraining hold. Junshin was able to move his left hand and he reached up to activate his radio to contact his comrades but he realized they were only seconds away and in sight. Junshin heard rustling to his left and realized there was another one nearby. He turned and saw another one take off running. He would've gone after them if it weren't for the fact that he had a hold of their masked intruder. He tightened his hold around the intruder's neck and caused the figure to pass out. Aoba appeared right before Satori did. Junshin transferred the figure into Aoba's arms.

"There's another intruder and I think I can catch them." He said.

"Go for it."

Junshin leapt away going after the second figure. He wasn't very far away but still slightly out of sight when he almost ran head long into a web of explosive tags. They began glowing and he dove backwards to avoid the blast. He stood up once the explosion died down. He began to brush himself off. His self grooming was interrupted by his radio coming alive and Aoba's voice on the other end.

"Junshin, are you all right. We heard that explosion."

"Yeah, I'm good. The other figure got away though."

"That's fine, just get back here."

"On my way."

Junshin returned to where he had left Aoba and Satori and saw they had the unconscious figure laid out and unmasked. The figure turned out to be a girl. She didn't wear any village affiliation or any 

recognizable markings. The girl slowly opened her eyes and blinked a few times before fully coming to. She attempted to get away but Satori and Junshin got in her way. She realized that she couldn't get away from these three. She then noticed their forehead protectors.

"Konoha, eh?"

Aoba nodded. He could tell that she was somewhat agitated. She could feel the eyes baring on her and it annoyed her.

"Am I under arrest?" She asked.

"Well, we did catch you in a restricted area so in a way…yes." Aoba said.

"What were you guys doing here? You don't live on the island do you?"

"We're a forward reconnaissance team. We scout out ahead to keep track of the other ninjas' movements." She said.

"So you guys are spotters?" Junshin asked.

"Do you have a name?" Satori asked.

"Rurousha." She replied.

"How many others with you are there?" Junshin asked.

"I think I've said enough. Besides, you're all here making illegal claims to this island taking all the wealth for yourselves."

"Wrong." Satori snapped. "We're on a mission to retrieve our dead. You are the ones here trying to steal everything with no respect for the dead."

"We're scavengers. Not thieves. We don't care about the dead. If you want anymore information out of me, you'll have to torture me."

"We're not here to torture anyone. In fact we don't want to cause anybody any harm but we will if we have to defend ourselves. We will find your comrade. How many explosive notes does he have?" Aoba asked.

"Plenty." She said with a slight grin.


	5. Ghosts of Soukutsu

The slender female known as Rurosha writhed in her restraints. That was after making sure that Aoba was watching her. The jonin had paid little attention to her since his companions left, having spent his time contacting the other leaf ninjas.

"I'm stiff and sore," she complained. "Isn't there any other way to restrain me?"

The jonin looked around practically ignoring her.

"Leaf Ninja!" she whined. "This is how Konoha gets a reputation for being so brutal!"

"You know, I liked you better when you refused to talk," said the jonin with a sigh. "You could have been more cooperative, but you preferred to act as if you're guilty. So let's wait and see what happens."

Rurosha began to whimper. "Something is digging into my back. Please take a look at my belt and see what it is."

Aoba stopped looking around and turned to his prisoner, who was wearing a fairly substantial ninja belt. "I'm just looking, but you have to promise to be quiet."

"I will." She breathed.

Aoba walked over to her as she stopped struggling and released the tension in her body, lying passively against the tree. Rurosha gazed hopefully at him with her frank amber eyes.

"Thank you." She said in advance.

"I haven't done anything yet." Aoba muttered.

He studied her body to guess the next course of action. He was mainly focused on the belt. He heard a crunching sound and glanced up to see Rurosha chewing something. She opened her mouth and expelled a misty sneeze in his direction.

Aoba coughed once and the area began to swirl all around his blurred vision. He grasped the side of the tree and felt as if he were on a ship and about to get seasick. He remained on his feet as long as he could, but his legs gave out. He slumped to the ground in what seemed like slow motion, and a moment later he was conscious but paralyzed. He could faintly hear Rurosha moving around. She must've been able to get free of her restraints.

Rubbing her wrists, Rurosha sat up and smiled at him. "It's only a muscle toxin. It knocks out some people but not you, apparently. You won't die, but you won't be able to move for several minutes."

Aoba looked on in helpless rage, his escaped prisoner walked out of sight and a few seconds later returned with a person dressed in similar clothing. He spotted Aoba and drew a kunai. Aoba couldn't scream or even twitch. He could only lie there, waiting to die.

"No he's a Jonin." Rurosha said, grabbing her companion's kunai out of his hand. "You can't kill him. We don't want Konoha too mad at us."

Grudgingly, the other person walked off. Rurosha knelt down to Aoba. "We'd like to take you with us, but people are more difficult to deal with than other items and they're worth even less."

At that moment, a kunai slammed into the dirt at Rurosha's feet. She looked up to see Satori and Junshin on their way back.

"Damn it. Let's get out of here." She said as her and her comrade leapt away.

The two Leaf ninjas grounded themselves next to Aoba. They wanted to go after them but Aoba was priority.

"He's alive but seems to be suffering from some sort of paralysis jutsu or something." Junshin said.

"Let's get him back to the others and see what Hanako can do for him." Satori said.

Hours later, Aoba lied on the ground with Hanako standing over him. She unhooked her hip pouch and went through it as if she was going to use everything in it.

"Is this really necessary? I feel fine."

"You inhaled some sort of toxin that paralyzed you. I need to be sure that your body is clear of all of the toxin."

Aoba tried to relax and take this extra punishment as bravely as he could because he knew that Hanako was just doing her job. She was gentle with him as possible and several minutes later she nodded to him but didn't look satisfied.

"You're a bit dehydrated and anemic," she said. "It might be from stress of being on this mission. Just increase your fluid intake and you should be all right."

He stood to his feet and walked off.

Yukino stood with Satori next to the dock. She looked a little disturbed.

"What's wrong, Yukino?" Satori asked.

"It's just that, I've been having vivid dreams lately about a girl with different color eyes. One of the was red and the other was green. They're so real, it's as if I could reach out and touch her. I swear that the other night, I looked up and saw her standing at the foot of my bed. Of course, it was only a shadow or maybe I was still dreaming. I don't know."

Her bluish-red eyes grew misty as she peered at him. Satori wasn't sure on what to tell her. At that moment, they heard yelling and screaming. Aoba stood in front of all of them.

"Someone needs help, come on." He said.

The leaf ninja squad leapt away to investigate. Minutes later, they arrived to see a team of eight Mist ninjas surrounded by chakra spikes. None of the Leaf ninjas could get to them without being struck by one of the chakra spikes.

Aoba put his hands to the sides of his mouth and called to them. The Mist team acted as if they didn't hear anything. Aoba knew damn well they could hear him. Then suddenly, one of the chakra spikes ripped through all eight of the Mist ninjas, leaving no trace of them.

"Damn it." Aoba said.

Sabaki of the Sand ninjas appeared next to Aoba. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"We just saw a group of Mist ninjas being ripped apart by the chakra spikes." Aoba said.

"I see." She said.

Seconds later, Mist ninjas arrived on the scene.

"What's happening? We heard yelling." The man said.

The man was in his late twenties with short, dark, brown hair and a forehead protector tied around his forehead. He wore a standard Mist vest that sported Mist symbols on the shoulders.

"We just witnessed eight of your ninjas being ripped apart by the chakra spikes." Aoba said.

"That's impossible." He replied. "All of our teams have checked in."

"That's ridiculous." Satori said. "We all saw them with our own eyes."

"Do you have any proof?" The Mist Jonin asked.

Satori fell silent, knowing he couldn't spawn anything. The field they were in was empty with no bodies of the dead.

"You guys were probably witnessing the ghosts of Soukutsu." He said.

"It would seem so." Aoba said.

The Sand and Mist ninjas leapt away leaving the Leaf ninjas by themselves. Aoba turned to his squad.

"If they choose to deny this incident, we have no proof to refute them. The more we see the less we know." Aoba said walking back towards the shore.


	6. Chasing the Scavengers

A few hours later, Satori and Junshin patrolled through the island on the lookout for the scavengers. Aoba had sent out everyone in teams of two. So far there was no sign of the scavengers. It wasn't like there was anything else they could do. They could go about and grab their dead but what were they going to do with them afterwards besides wait for the relief ninja squad to get there? Attach strings to them and make puppets out of them. Satori was quite annoyed with these two pests. He had fought tough ninjas in his past and won a hell of a lot easier than finding these two scavengers.

"They're going to be hard to find." Satori said.

"Or we could wait for them to find us." Junshin replied.

"Nah, because they won't come after us. They know better than to take on two Leaf Jonins, especially if the two Leaf Jonins are you and me."

The comment made Satori sound very arrogant and cocky.

"I could just activate my Sekigan and make this a hell of a lot easier."

"Yes, you could do that to make things a bit easier." Junshin said with a half smile.

Satori could feel a slight of annoyance coming from Junshin's tone.

"Sorry, I keep forgetting that I have this. I've only had it for a short time."

"No excuse." Junshin said playfully.

"Sekigan." He said as his eyes swirled around and produced a purple iris and now he could use its infrared capabilities. After scanning for a few seconds, he saw something. He pointed a gloved hand over to the right.

"There."

They sprinted off in hot pursuit just as the two scavengers took off again. Their prey ducked and dodged through trees and over bodies. They were far ahead of the Leaf ninjas to try and hide from them but with Satori's Sekigan, it made it almost impossible. Satori and Junshin turned a corner and in the distance they saw a most awesome but unexpected sight. A vortex was off in the distance, a churning pinwheel of broken bodies and unrecognizable things. It was clearly made of chakra and also standing still, unusual for something like that. Of course, this was on an island with chakra spikes and dead bodies that have just appeared out of no where and a chakra made vortex is unusual?

"What the hell is that?" Satori said no taking his eyes off it.

"I have no idea."

Satori scanned the area for the scavengers and couldn't find them.

"Damn it. They got away." He said.

Satori was ticked that the two scavengers had bolted and he couldn't even detect them with his newly acquired ability. Junshin was also annoyed but he couldn't do anything about it as well. He reached up and pressed the button on his collar to activate his radio.

"Aoba-sensei, this is Junshin. We were in pursuit of the scavengers but they've given us the slip. However, Satori and I have discovered a chakra vortex in the distance of the island. It looks like it sucks up anything that gets close to it."

"Report back to the shore on the double." Aoba replied through the radio.

"You got it." Junshin said.

He turned to Satori who had returned his gaze to the spinning vortex.

"How can such things exist?" He asked aloud not expecting an actual answer.

"Well, we are on an island where bodies have appeared out of no where. Bodies that should already be buried a long time ago."

"That's true."

"Aoba-sensei wants us to head back to report in."

Satori nodded and the two Leaf ninjas jumped into the trees back the way they came. Once they were gone, a pile of dead bodies were thrown off to the side and two live bodies emerged. It was Rurosha and her lover, Hoan. They had buried themselves in a pile of bodies to hide themselves from the Leaf ninja's Sekigan. Rurosha laughed and slapped her knee.

"I knew we could get around that damned sight of his." She said gazing longingly at Hoan.

She caressed his short dark hair. The two of them had frantic bouts of making out while hiding underneath the bodies. They got in whatever time they could during their duration here on the island. It heightened the intensity of doing it with the dangers lurking all around them, making Rurosha almost forget her grandiose and well connected associates. Who cares if they learned about the secret of one of the Rock's eye techniques, when the lithe scavenger was having the time of her life? The thrills, the excitement, this is why she had joined the Shinjiketo Scavengers.

"You're insatiable." He said with a smile. "They didn't tell me this job would have such fringe benefits."

"They didn't know." She said leaning forward to kiss his neck.

He turned to devote his attention to his mistress. They embraced hungrily, kissing and fondling, oblivious to the rest of the world. Suddenly, the colorful stretch of air in front of them began to shimmer and waver, coalescing as if it were an illusion about to reveal its true appearance. Rurosha noticed it first and uncharacteristically pushed her ardent lover away.

"Hoan, what is that?" She asked pointing at the wispy curtain in front of them. It almost looked like a gridded wall before it changed into a beautiful vista from some famed vacation spot.

Before Hoan could answer, they dropped to their knees. Their chakra was being drained from them. Their eyesight also was taken from them as they were plunged into darkness by the shimmering scrim that loomed before them.

"What is happening to us?" He asked. Suddenly, a high pitched whine sounded in their ears. They both covered their ears in a futile attempted to drown out the noise.

"What…is it?" She asked.

They both screamed as they tried to suppress the agony. Mercifully, they both were unconscious seconds later, and they didn't see the glittering cloud as it consumed the chakra drained scavengers.


	7. Chase and Search

"THERE THEY ARE!" Tenten yelled pointing down an aisle of trees on her left.

Tenten's call caught the other Leaf ninjas' attention and the entire group leapt after another set of scavengers.

"Ready a barrage of fireballs" Aoba ordered.

He lifted his hand to signal his Katon users but before he could give it, one of the scavengers launched a kunai with an explosive note attached to it at a chakra spike. The tag exploded, causing the spike to dance wildly and slam into the ground, which exploded into a spider vein of chakra bolts.

"Careful of the chakra spike." Aoba said.

The Leaf team got clear of the dangerous spike.

"Fire." Aoba ordered knowing that it was more of a gesture than a threat. The foe didn't really intend on being captured because causing a chakra spike to go out of control like that was a desperate and dangerous act under these conditions. Aoba heard a mixture of voices echoing.

"KATON: HOSENKA NO JUTSU!" (Fire Element: Mythical Phoenix Fire Technique."

The multiple fireballs streaked through the air adding to the unearthly light show. The first few missed due to the scavengers dodging them but the last few hit the tree limbs where they landed. The scavengers fell to the ground and came face to face with the ninja squad from Konoha.

"I am Kunren, we greet you." The leader said in a monotone voice. "We welcome this opportunity to explain any misunderstandings."

"There is no misunderstanding." Aoba replied tight lipped. "You will stand down from any attack position and allow us to take you into custody. Any attempts to flee or fight will be met with deadly force. Do I make myself clear?"

Kunren didn't say anything. Him and his party drew weapons and threw them towards the Konoha team. Only the weapons didn't hit the ninjas. Instead they went off to the right, towards a group of Mist ninjas heading their way. The mist ninjas returned the gesture with weapons of their own.

"No!" Hanako shouted. She cringed as if she was getting hit herself. "They're killing them."

"Mist ninjas, hold your fire." Aoba barked.

It was too late, the scavenger team was dead. Aoba turned to the Mist team.

"They were going to surrender." He said. "What you did was just mass murder."

The mist leader just smirked as they all leapt away. Aoba made a fist and slammed it into his palm.

"Before this day is out, I want some answers. That's enough of this murderous sport for now." He reached up to his neck and activated his radio. "Aoba to Seika. Report."

Seika and Junshin walked among the dead in another field. It was the same field where Satori and Junshin lost the two scavengers from before. Seika lowered his hand from his neck radio.

"I've told Aoba-san where we are and everything we've done so far." He looked worriedly out in front of him to the gloomy field interspersed with somber bodies. If there was a more eerie, more depressing part of the graveyard, he hadn't seen it. "Do you think we'll find them again?"

"If we were out here indefinitely then yeah. But since we don't have that kind of time then no. The scavengers haven't moved or done anything in the past forty-five minutes. They're pretty committed to hiding."

"Or planning an ambush." Seika replied.

The ANBU member looked into the vast graveyard with the vortex still in the distance. He really didn't know what he should be looking for when he spotted two bodies laying side by side in the exact same position. That wasn't unusual in this blasted graveyard, because many people died in each other's clutches. But these two were laying in identical positions and no two bodies should be laying like that.

"Junshin, got two of them at ten o'clock. Do you see them?

Junshin looked over to his left. "I do now."

The two carefully walked over to them. The closer they got to the two bodies, the more eerie the scene became. Seika kept expecting to see some minute difference. There was none. Junshin recognized the bodies. They both were the same female scavenger from before, Rurosha. Junshin felt a shiver down his spine.

"Do they look the same to you?" Seika asked.

"They are the same. It's the same scavenger that Satori and I were looking for earlier."

"Weren't there two of them earlier?"

"Yeah. The other one could be using Henge no jutsu to confuse us. Although in their condition, they don't appear to be any sort of threat. She's barely alive."

Seika's partner made the observation only a moment before they felt really tired as if the chakra was being drained from them.

"What the hell is going on?" Junshin asked.

"We need to get out of here." Seika said.

The two turned to leave but they were too weak to really make far. Junshin fell to his knees then slumped over. Seika also fell to his knees. He reached up to activate his radio. He pressed the button but nothing worked.

"Aoba-san, do you copy? Aoba-san."

Nothing.

Then a shrill, high-pitched tone sounded in his ears. The whine grew louder and Seika doubled over in pain. He wanted to roll into a fetal position and whimper. He looked to Junshin for help but the former Rock ninja was no where to be seen. He wasn't where he had fallen only a moment ago. Seika figured that because he was in so much pain, he couldn't take the time to really look and tell Junshin apart from the dead. The hum was more than Seika's senses could take. He tried to stand up and run but he was already unconscious by the time he stood up. He fell over onto his face and blended in with the dead.


	8. Continuing Search

"I can't reach Seika or Junshin on the radio." Hanako said. "It's been about forty-five minutes since they last checked in."

Aoba nodded somberly as he walked to the front of the group. He stopped and looked to Tenten, whose normally tranquil features were etched with concern.

"I say we go after them." Tenten said.

Aoba pondered the thought for a moment. Then he looked to her and nodded. Then suddenly Sabaki and her Sand squad appeared out of no where.

"We've been picking up some strange chakra sensations from the far side of the island." She said. "We also felt the chakra of two of your own but then they faded."

"Yes, we can't seem to pick them up on our radio. We're concerned about them. They were sent out to find the two scavengers that evaded us earlier."

"And failing to do so, I see." Sabaki said. "I'm concerned that we've only subdued two scavenger teams so far."

"And one of them was going to surrender to us until the Mist arrived and annihilated them."

"It's unfortunate but the scavengers are using deadly force against us. We can't let them get away."

"Sabaki-san, I've got to find my missing ninjas first. We'll be moving closer to the other end of the island and we'll probably find the other scavengers."

"Just remember that with each member of my squad they kill, a few more war dead never make it home and their families are left wondering what happened."

"As soon as I've retrieved my living, we'll help you retrieve the dead."

"Be sure that you do."

At that moment, Sabaki and her team leapt away into the trees. Aoba turned to his squad. He could see the semi annoyed looks on their faces at the Sand Jonin's attitude towards them. He kinda agreed with them but at the same time, the sand had been here a few days longer than his team and a few days made the difference in experience when it came to Soukutsu. He saw the fatigued Satori standing with Yukino, facing each other. He noticed that something was different with him. In fact, there was something different than both of them. He couldn't place it. He slowly walked over to them, determined to get control of this spiraling situation from every aspect. As far as he was concerned, the dead were not as important as the living, and keeping people alive in this dangerous place should be their first priority. As Sabaki had said, there were many ways to die on the island of Soukutsu, and he wasn't going to add to the number of deadly encounters. Once he reached his second in command, the young Jonin looked up to Aoba.

"Satori, I want you, Yukino and Tenten to head to the middle of the island where you lost track of those two scavengers. I will the take the others and we'll head to the far end of the island."

"You got it." Satori said.

Shortly later, Satori, Yukino and Tenten leapt through the trees. Both Satori and Yukino had their Sekigan eyes activated. Satori looked from side to side as he moved through the tree limbs. He stopped, thus making the other two stopped. They looked at him as he shook his head. He couldn't see any trace of his two comrades. They had reached their last known position and could see the ghastly vortex in the distance again. Tenten and Yukino were in awe of the sight. In their last radio contact, they were in this area. After that the team never reported again. The endless vista twisted bodies made Satori consider the worst.

He turned to his teammates. "Anything?"

Tenten shook her head.

"Not much." Yukino answered, still scanning the area with her Sekigan.

They jumped to the ground below and began their search again. They strolled deeper into the graveyard. The devastation was tragic; seeing the endless field of death, it was hard to shake the notion that angry gods, not mere mortals, must have destroyed these great armies.

"What's this?" Yukino asked peering squinting into the field. "I can barely make out a heat signature."

"I see it." Satori said leaping ahead of the others toward the heat pattern. Neither he nor Yukino could make out who it was. They could just make out the silhouette.

Yukino leapt further in and got closer to the body as Satori and Tenten hung back. Yukino grabbed the body and returned with it. It was Seika. Yukino did a series of handseals and green chakra formed around her hand. She then placed it over Seika's forehead. Satori reached up and touched the radio activation button.

"Satori to Aoba, we found Seika but there is no sign of Junshin."

"Is he alive?"

Satori looked to Yukino for confirmation.

"He's alive, barely. I've got him stabilized but we need to get him out of this area. Preferably back to our base camp."

"Get Seika back to the shore and we'll meet you there."

Satori noticed Tenten's look on her face. He could tell that she wanted to protest Aoba's order. Without taking his eyes off his sister, he responded.

"Acknowledged, Aoba-sensei." He walked over to his sister and pulled her tightly. "We'll find him. I promise."

Tenten buried her head into her brother's chest and let a few tears escape her eyes.

Aoba walked away from Satori, Gintokin and Yukino, who all had just leapt into the tree line to look for Junshin, and stepped towards Hanako who had just stood up from tending to Seika. She looked at him and crossed her arms as if she was guarding him. She slowly walked towards him.

"I'm sorry, Aoba-sensei, but you can't see him. He just regained consciousness but he's sleeping again. He is very weak and we nearly lost him."

"I know," Aoba said with a troubled sigh. "But we've got to have some idea what happened to Junshin…where to look for him."

"I don't think Seika could tell you that anyway," she answered, unmoved. "When he was conscious for a few seconds, he asked me where Junshin was. He's suffering from shock and maybe partial amnesia. I'd like to find Junshin as much as anyone, but badgering my patient won't help."

"I don't intend to badger him," Aoba said carefully. However, it was clear that he wasn't going to be allowed to question Seika right now, and needling Hanako was indeed futile.

"Try back in an hour," Hanako suggested. "He may be stronger then." With that, Hanako walked back to Seika's side.

Aoba stood there thinking about this place. It was supposed to be a simple mission but now it's turned for the worse. The war still continued in this graveyard or lost ninjas, where it was hard to put the past behind them. He was beginning to think the island of Soukutsu should become a vast funeral pyre. Let it burn to the point where there was nothing left to interest anyone. Nothing left but ashes.


	9. Life Flashing Before One's Eyes

"Yohaku Junshin." A voice said from behind.

The fourteen year old Junshin looked up with hardly any interest from his meal that he had barely touched, to see a man in his thirties standing there. He wore a full Jonin uniform.

"Tsuchikage-sama would like to see you."

Junshin rose stiffly to his feet and looked at the other ninjas in the room. They all glared at him with horrid eyes. He didn't care anymore. He let them think what they wanted. He was the only one left of his family and they treated him as if he had done something wrong when in reality it was his brother Deidara. He left his food on the table and began to leave.

"Get out of here, traitor." Someone called as they threw a piece of food at him.

He spun around and caught it. He slightly smirked. "Let's see how long you live." He said as he tossed the piece of food on the ground.

He and the Jonin arrived in the office of the Tsuchikage. He walked in and saw the fifth Tsuchikage sitting behind his desk. He wasn't old but he wasn't young either. His hair was hidden by the white and green hat of his kage outfit. Junshin figured that this wasn't going to be pleasant.

"You called, Tsuchikage-sama?" Junshin asked even though he knew the answer.

"Leave us." The kage said to the others except Junshin.

As they were told, the others left leaving the two of them alone.

"How are you holding up?" He asked.

"About as good as anyone I suppose. My mother died two days ago and my brother ran off and that makes me the last member of my family. As you can tell I haven't let that affect my job as a Rock ninja." Junshin said.

"So I've noticed." The Tsuchikage replied. "However," Junshin knew there was more. "It's been affecting everyone else."

"I've noticed. So why did you call me here?"

"It's been a decision of the elders that you be put on watch and taken off your team because they think that you might be at risk because they think that you may follow your brother's footsteps."

"And that's bullshit." Junshin shotback.

"Bite your tongue." The Tsuchikage instantly said.

Junshin tightened his lips to attempt from verbally lashing out. Instead, he just did what he felt like…he ran. Everything he'd ever known, ever enjoyed, ever loved was now against him or gone. He had to get out of the village.

"Yohaku Junshin." A voice said from behind.

The sixteen year old ninja looked up with interest from his meal to see a Jonin standing there. It was a gray haired ninja with a mask over his face and his forehead protector arranged to cover his left eye. It was Hatake Kakashi, or as he would hear it in the Rock village Copy ninja Kakashi. He stood there reading a book.

"Hokage-sama would like to see you."

Junshin stood up from the table and looked to his fellow ninja. They all mustered friendly smiles toward him.

"It was nice to meet you." One of them said.

"Hope to see you out in the field soon." Another said.

Junshin smiled and nodded to the mostly youthful ninjas. The ones closest to him extended their hands to shake his. Although he hadn't forgotten how to shake a hand, he did slightly hesitate at the offer due to the fact that it had been sometime since he had felt the warmth and friendliness of a village.

He and Kakashi passed a group of ninjas training to where one of them had thrown a kunai and Junshin caught it and turned it into a bracelet, much to the ninja's protest. The two of them walked into Tsunade's office, where she sat behind her desk and Shizune stood beside her as her loyal subject.

"You wanted to see me, Hokage-sama?" He asked already knowing the answer.

"That'll be all, Kakashi."

"If there is nothing else then, I'm out." He said before vanishing in a cloud of smoke.

"How are things going for you?" She asked.

"They're good. To be honest, I always believed that Konoha was full of nasty people that won't help each other but you helped me learn otherwise and get rid of that Rock propaganda."

"Glad to hear it. I've called you here to inform you that you will be now the rank of a Chuunin and placed on a team. That team leader is Yamashiro Aoba and the team consists of Shiranui Satori and Uzuki Hanako. You will be replacing their former teammate, Nara Arihiro who was killed battling Akatsuki."

At that moment there was a knock at the door.

"Ah, here's your team now." Tsunade said.

The door opened revealing his new team.

Suddenly, the flashback was thrown back into his memories as a chakra spike struck the ground a few feet to the left of him. He awoke from his state of unconsciousness. He slowly stood up as bones cracked throughout his body. He was stiff and had every reason to be. He had been out cold for several hours. He leaned back against the tree that was closest to him and different times of his life traveled through his brain. One specific time was the time when he found out that he'd never see his brother again. He found out that Deidara killed himself while trying to kill Uchiha Sasuke. He did feel saddened that he didn't get to say goodbye to his brother and it had been years since he had seen him but another part of him felt relived with his brother dead. A piece of him felt in place but that piece was also broken. He looked around the broken bodies surrounding him. He saw ninjas from different villages. He looked over and saw an older ninja wearing a Rock forehead protector. From the looks of the ninja, he must've come out of retirement or something to fight in this battle. In fact, he probably didn't stand much of a chance with younger enemy ninja all around. With a few dead Cloud ninjas around him, the old ninja hadn't gone peacefully.

_Yes, the battle of Soukutsu, _he thought coming back to the present. The mission, Satori, Hanako…Tenten. _Where is my girlfriend? _He hoped that she was all right. He looked around for his teammate, Seika but didn't see a present day Jonin vest anywhere in sight. In fact, he didn't recognize where he was. He could still see the vortex in the distance. The wind started to pick up speed. He noticed that bodies were beginning to move towards the vortex as if it was pulling them. It actually was. It wasn't wind that was blowing; it was the pull of the vortex.

_We are all being pulled into it, _he concluded, _myself along with these other abandoned bodies and there's nothing we can do about it._


	10. Mimicry

Satori, Aoba and Hanako stood with Sabaki and her team. Sabaki didn't have a very pleasant look on her face. In fact, she looked suspiciously at Aoba and the other two.

"Are you saying we should stop recovering the bodies?" She asked.

Aoba maintained a conciliatory tone as he addressed his counterpart, because he knew that this was a delicate matter with her. "As you told us when we first arrived, the Soukutsu battle site is becoming more dangerous with the passage of time, and we aren't getting the resources we need to do half our job. Not to mention the chakra anomalies we have yet to explain."

"How do you propose we keep the scavengers from walking away with everything?" She asked.

Choosing his words carefully, the Jonin answered, "I will propose to Konoha that we have a large memorial service. We would invite every village who participated in this battle from all sides. Then we should back off and destroy the island. That would remove the lure for the scavengers."

Sabaki slowly considered this option. "This mass destruction would be tasteful, I presume."

"It may take a few days for every village to have their say but then we would be able to tear down this haunted graveyard."

"I think that this may be our best way out of this hopeless situation. However, in the meantime I think we should help out the Mist in covering the borders. Let's cut off the scavengers before they can escape."

"We're still looking for Junshin. Once we figure out what happened then we'll help."

Sabaki shook her head. "You're the one who told me that he was forsaking the dead in order to protect the living. I'm rather disappointed. We're out."

Sabaki and her team turned around and leapt away. Once they were gone, Aoba's shoulders slumped. He supposed that he wasn't following his own advice, but there was a difference between these dead ninjas and a teammate who had been missing for only a few hours. When that teammate was Junshin, his odds for surviving went up.

Aoba watched as the Sand team leapt out of sight. He turned to Satori.

"Ready to go out again?"

Satori nodded.

"Take Gintokin and Yukino with you."

"You got it." Satori turned away from Aoba and looked towards the group. "Gin, Yukino, were leaving."

Tenten ran up to her brother. He knew what she was thinking.

"Don't worry. I'll bring him back. It's a promise of a lifetime. "He said as he lifted his thumb and pointed it at her.

The three of them leapt away into the trees leaving Hanako, Tenten and Aoba standing there watching them until they were out of sight.

Junshin felt a burst of heat. It revived him from another blackout. He wasn't sure whether to be more concerned about the fact that he had blacked out again. He then realized that someone was behind him. It was the scavenger named Rurosha. She was about fifty feet away. She didn't say anything. She just stood there staring at him. He was waiting for her to attack or to do some action but she didn't react. He stared curiously at her. Then suddenly, a few kunai landed in front of Rurosha to which she turned her attention to the oncoming Mist attackers. The Mist ninjas outnumbered her three to one. Junshin noticed that one the kunai had an explosive tag attached to it that began to glow. He dove away to take cover from the explosion. Once everything settled, he waited for a few seconds before getting up to inspect the damage. He stood up and saw that Rurosha was still standing and the Mist ninjas were dead. The scavenger knelt down and grabbed one of the dead ninjas. She stared at him as if she was scanning him and that was exactly what she was doing. Her eyes turned a bright pink and looked the dead ninja up and down. Junshin was totally unaware of such a jutsu. Especially one that scavengers possessed.

The Leaf ninja was a captive audience for when the scavenger began to grow. The change wasn't instantaneous; it was like a flower opening its petals, something small and insignificant becoming impossibly grand and beautiful. The female scavenger began to change into a male ninja.

_Some sort of Henge no jutsu? No, it's a mimic._

Whatever Rurosha was before, she had now studied the fallen Mist ninja and was turning into a copy of it, down to the smallest and largest detail. As Junshin watched this incredible transformation, he began to doubt his senses. Whether the mimicry was fake or genuine, it was an excellent job, Junshin had to admit. The process seemed almost mechanical. Was there motivation here or a mindless project? Why kill a person only to mimic it…unless the intention was to take its place? Or to cause confusion in a battle.

Junshin was now terrified for the safety of his teammates, but he was entranced by the marvel in front of him. Despite gnawing dread, he watched until the transformation was total and complete. There wre two identical Mist ninjas, identical down to scars, blood smears and rank markings on the uniform. Once again, he wished he was seeing an illusion.

Junshin looked away from the jarring sight and tried to reason it out. Suddenly, he was blinded by a flash of light, and the mimic ninja began to move away from its dead prey. Junshin winced, certain he was going to be killed, but the ninja leapt away from him. If he survived, he would tell the others what he had seen. However, he had to get to them first. He couldn't let his team fall into this doppelganger's 

trap. He started to walk towards the dead ninjas but then something exploded and sent him flying through the air towards the maw of the vortex.


	11. Now Or Never

Junshin sailed through the air towards the chakra vortex. Fear gripped his throat like a garrote. More memories flashed through his mind as he got closer and closer to the vortex. Tenten was on his mind and he didn't want to leave her but he didn't know how he was going to get out of this one. His mind raced trying to figure out how to get out of this situation. When every attempt failed, he was ready to accept his fate. He grin appeared on his face.

"Man, Satori is going to kill me if I hurt Tenten." He said aloud.

He closed his eyes shut and waited for the inevitable.

"You're right. I will." A voice said nearby.

He opened his eyes and turned his head to see Satori flying out of nowhere and grabbing him. He slung him over his shoulder in a firefighter's carry. Unfortunately, he was now caught in the gravity pull of the vortex.

"Now what?" Junshin asked.

"Just a second." Satori said.

After postioning Junshin so that he wouldn't fall off his shoulders and with his hands free, he did a series of handseals. Snake, Ram, Boar, Monkey, Horse, Tiger.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu." (Fire Element: Great Fireball Technique)

Satori blew a giant fireball out from his mouth and the force pushed him further away from the vortex and out of the reach of its gravity pull. They landed near Gintokin and Yukino. Junshin felt relieved to be amongst friends again. Yukino walked over to Satori's side and gently gripped his hand. She looked as if she was very relieved to see her boyfriend back in one piece.

"I thought we had lost you for good." Yukino said.

"I thought I had been lost for good." Junshin replied.

"Not to spoil the reunion moment or anything but I suggest we get out of here and head back to camp." Gintokin said.

"I agree. We need to get out of here. There's a mimic ninja out there."

The others nodded and leapt away.

Once Junshin arrived back to the base camp, he was greeted by everyone. Tenten took one look at him and rushed to his side.

"Junshin." She said.

She looked as if she was about to cry as she embraced her boyfriend. Junshin placed his hand on the side of her face as she rested it in his hand. She held Junshin's hand to her face and embraced the touch of his hand with closed eyes.

"I hate to mix business with pleasure but I gotta know what has been going on out there." Aoba said.

Tenten disengaged her hug from Junshin but kept her hand interlocked with his.

Aoba listened intently to a tale he would have doubted a few days ago, but being in the Soukutsu battle site had broadened his perspective. He glanced to the trees nearby hoping that nothing was sneaking up on them.

"We must not encounter this mimic for even an instant. If we do then we're dead. The mimic scans its prey and then duplicates it. This might explain much of what has happened here during the battle of Soukutsu."

Aoba adjusted his sunglasses as he thought. He glanced back towards the inside of the island. "It would explain why there were no survivors of the battle. They all kept fighting without thinking of retreating. If there were one or two of these mimic ninjas then they could wreak incredible damage."

There was a silence with the Konoha team as they considered this one answer amid a whole slew of new questions.

_Is there any way to exorcise these demons from here and send all these lost spirits to their just reward?_ Aoba wondered.

"Aoba-sensei, I can't help but feel as if the Mist are mixed up in this, whatever it is. I don't think they're plotting against Konoha but they're hiding something. They must know more than what they're telling us." Hanako said.

Suddenly, Yukino looked into the forest with her activated Sekigan.

"Aoba-sensei, I'm seeing someone headed our way. Its body heat is different from ours."

Satori activated his as well. "I'm seeing the same thing."

Then a Mist ninja leapt through the trees and stood about a thousand feet away from them.

"Aoba-sensei, I suggest we get out of here." Junshin said.

"Why?"

"Because I saw this Mist ninja die at the hands of the doppelganger. Plus, Satori and Yukino both said its body heat is different from ours."

"Let's go. Move out." Aoba ordered.

The Konoha team quickly gathered their gear and leapt away in an almost fluid motion. Once they started leaving, the mimic took off after them.

"We can't let this thing get close to us. We'll end up like the rest of the people here, dead." Junshin said.

"The distance is closing." Seika said.

"We need to kill it before it can kill us." Junshin said.

"Are you sure that's the mimic?" Aoba asked.

"There's no doubt in my head. We need to kill it. If this thing were to imitate any of us, it would wreak untold havoc in Konoha."

A wild chakra spike ripped through the area just behind the Konoha team. The distance between them and the mimic was still disappearing.

"It's almost within arms reach." Seika said bring up the rear.

"Aoba-sensei, I suggest we kill it now. We are in great danger. If that thing gets a hold of any of us, we'll all in serious trouble." Junshin said.

Aoba's lips thinned as he shook his head. "I've never attacked anyone without provocation before."

"This is provocation enough." Seika said barely dodging a hand grabbing at him. "She almost had me that time."

Aoba turned around and saw the Mist ninja bearing down on them so serenely, so relentless. From what Aoba could tell, there was no life in the Mist ninja's eyes.

"It's now or never, Aoba-sensei." Junshin said.


	12. The Result

In the final analysis, it was all a question of how much Aoba trusted the former Rock ninja who had served at his side selflessly for awhile now. Although Junshin wasn't from Konoha, he acted like one. Junshin never had hidden agendas or ulterior motives; his only concern was the welfare of his fellow shinobi. Making his decision, Aoba spun around in mid air and pointed to the pursuing Mist ninja.

"Attack." He said. If Junshin was wrong, they were about to attack a member of a village that they've been at peace with for some time now.

Satori and Hanako put their fingers into position to create clones of themselves.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."

Multiple clones of Satori and Hanako appeared. The Satori clones did the same handseals as the real Satori. Rat, Tiger, Dog, Ox, Rabbit, Tiger.

"Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu."

The multiple clones of Satori spewed fireballs at the Mist ninja who did its best to dodge the attack.

"Raikyuu no Jutsu." (Lightning Ball Technique)

The Hanako clones all formed balls of lightning in their hands and hurled them at the opponent. They too were dodged, but barely.

"Kaze no Yaiba no Jutsu." Gintokin said.

He leapt at the Mist ninja and sliced her in half. The Mist ninja was caught by surprise. Gintokin was able to slice through her with little resistance. The body fell down to the ground, dead. Aoba felt some remorse but he had no choice with his team being in danger.

"ARE YOU INSANE?!" A voice called out.

The team turned around to see four Leaf ninjas appear. It was Yokaze Katianna, Kuroi Jiro, Yei Shizuka, and Kamizuki Nori. Katianna was just recently made Jonin and was the teammate of Uragirimono Ronin who was left for dead and became a Rock ninja and was thought to be killed only to be revived as a Reaper. Jiro was the teammate of Okureru Hiroshi, who had betrayed Konoha and sort of killed Satori who was under a special seal that prevented him from completely dying. Shizuka is the teammate of Inuzuka Yaiba and Seisan Shigekazu. Nori is the teammate of Angirineko Tsuku and Tobitake Kanaye and is Kamizuki Izumo's little sister. Nori's team had all fought Akatsuki members at some point in time. Nori helped fight Hidan during which Nara Arihiro was killed and Tsuku and Kanaye helped fight the fake Akatsuki members a short time ago.

"You just killed a defenseless ninja, who didn't even attack you to begin with. We're not at war with the Mist and we saw you attack that ninja. This is going to destroy the goodwill that Konoha has built with the Mist."

Aoba was heartsick at the prospect, however slim, that he had made a mistake and killed a ninja of a village they were at peace with. The only justification was that they attacked in self-defense was Junshin's extraordinary story, and they might not be able to back it up with proof.

"Your reaction is understandable but we have reason to believe that the ninja we killed was not an actual Mist ninja. Junshin was a witness to this actual ninja being killed elsewhere on this island. What we killed was a being that kills its intended target and duplicates them. It's very similar to Henge no jutsu and I know there's going to be a need to search for evidence…"

Aoba was cut off by the sudden appearance of Mist ninjas that had just surrounded them.

"I'm sure there will be more than that, Aoba-sensei." Katianna said.

"You killed one of our comrades for no reason." One of the Mist ninjas yelled.

"But we probably just discovered what has been haunting this place since the war." Aoba countered.

The Mist ninjas drew their weapons ready to fight. Out of nowhere, Sabaki and her team of Sand ninjas appeared. They stood side by side with the Leaf team.

"We've been observing what has been going on. I think it's time for the Konoha ninjas to get out of here." She said.

"We're not going to turn tail and leave you four by yourselves. You're standing next to us and the Mist will probably attack you as well now." Aoba said.

Yukino slightly edged herself towards Satori. Satori knew he had to protect Yukino and the life inside her at all costs.

"It must've been like this during the Battle of Soukutsu." Yukino said. "The mimic caused mistaken identity, deadly hostilities, vengeance with no chance to surrender. No wonder there was no record of all this."

Suddenly, a Mist ninja jumped from the crowd, with a sword drawn and took a swipe at Yukino. Satori drew both sai and caught the blade with his weapons. He then kicked the ninja in the stomach, sending him back to the crowd. More Mist ninjas leapt at the Leaf ninjas, completely ignoring the Sand ninjas. They began to pepper the Leaf ninjas with kunai and shuriken. Sabaki and her team attacked the Mist ninjas, giving the Leaf ninjas a helping hand. The Mist then turned part of their attention to the Sand team as well. Katianna pulled shuriken from her pouch and threw it into the crowd in front of her. Then suddenly, her body caused her to spit out something. She instinctively reached up and covered her mouth with her hand. She looked down to her hand and saw it covered in blood. She then felt a sharp pain in her back. She looked back to see a sword sticking out of her back. A Mist ninja grabbed the sword and pulled it up; bring the sword out of Katianna's body through her shoulder. Katianna fell to the ground with nothing to save her life. Jiro saw what had happened to Katianna and was distracted enough to feel a hand grab his forehead and a sharp object slide across his throat. Nori and Shizuka 

were backed into each other and surrounded by Mist ninjas. They fought off as many as they could but they ultimately fell as well. More Satori and Hanako clones appeared to try and help even the odds but it was still practically useless. Aoba spun around to see that Sabaki was the only Sand ninja left alive. Aoba's original team for this mission was still alive but he didn't know for how much longer. The new Leaf team that arrived had fallen. It was time for a retreat.

"Leaf team fall back." Aoba ordered.

"About time." Sabaki said with a smirk.

"Sabaki retreat as well."

"Like hell I will. I'm staying and fighting the fight."

"Hanako and I are leaving our clones here to help out." Satori said.

"Fine with me." Sabaki said as she kicked another Mist ninja.

Seika, Gintokin, Junshin and Aoba picked up the bodies of the four dead Leaf ninjas.

"Good luck." Aoba said as the Leaf team leapt away. They were only feet away when a giant explosion erupted from the center of the battle site. Both Satori and Hanako gasped when their jutsu dispelled and they gained the knowledge of what the clones had gained.

"What is it?" Aoba asked.

"All dead."

"Did someone use an explosive tag?" Seika asked.

"Not sure. I just know that everyone that was there just died." Hanako said.

Aoba turned his head back around and faced front. This mission had turned in one catastrophe after another.

_I have a feeling that our troubles are only just beginning._


	13. Consequences of The Result

From an unseen position, Hitomi watched as the Leaf team leap away and finally reach their boat to sail away from the island of Soukutsu. She let out a breath she had been holding for what had seemed like days, because her parents and friends had escaped…for now. She had heard Aoba's words of concern, and she feared that he was right, despite the loss of the Leaf and Sand teams, the troubles for this group of ninjas was only beginning.

Sasuke had left her alone since she came to this time. That had been both a blessing and a curse. It had put her at loose ends for the first time since she could remember. She knew that she could visit her parents, grandparents, anybody she wished, but she had resisted for the most part with the exception of one or two glimpses of her mother. She wanted to help out her parents and their team but doing so would no doubt end her existence as what she was now. Sasuke and the others would strip her of her abilities and leave her to be a normal ninja. However, she still might do it, to save Konoha from destruction. She hadn't acted to save those who just fell.

Maybe this was a test that was chosen and she would be able to bear witness and refrain from helping her parents…when the time came. She had watched suffering before without taking action, in fact just a few minutes ago. If she turned her back on her parents now, she wouldn't have to make a more difficult choice later. When her mentor showed her the vision in The Lake, Hitomi knew she was being tested. This was the hardest one she could imagine.

From her vantage point, she gazed into the depth of the island of Soukutsu. The mysteries of Soukutsu were just waiting to be revealed, and Aoba was doing his best as usual; but sometimes the price to solve a mystery was higher than anyone should have to pay.

_This will prove to be one of those cases, _Hitomi thought. _How much can I really do to help?_

The death of her parents' friends had brought her the usual feelings of helplessness, despair and inevitability. She wondered if it ever got easier. Solemnly, she made her decision.

_The graveyard can hold on to its secrets a while longer. I'm going to find out what will happen to my parents and their team._

The girl envisioned herself in Konoha. She found herself standing between two buildings. She was now a day in the future. The weather had changed slightly. Instead of a sunny day which it was only moments ago, cold, sleeting rain pounded sideways with a few brave pedestrians who rushed past her paying her very little attention. She slightly changed her appearance and now looked like a nondescript chuunin, a role she could play with considerable verisimilitude. Something about her caused one's mind to blue past her appearance, even though a person could acknowledge that she had been there and was supposed to be there. No two people who tried to describe her would agree on the details or even have many details to furnish.

Hitomi looked at the red building with the fire emblem on it. That's when she noticed a young looking blonde haired woman with twin pony tails walking past her. She stared straight ahead; the rain splashed harmlessly off her determined face. HItomi knew exactly who it was.

"Hokage-sama," Hitomi said rushing up to her. "Here's that file you asked for."

She handed her a nonexistent scroll, which she had tucked into her green jacket's pocket without giving it a thought.

"Thank you." She said, striding past her.

"So what's going on with Aoba's team?" Hitomi asked.

"The elders are still deciding. What a disaster that has been. I have no clue what we're going to do about it."

Hitomi pulled out and opened an umbrella. She held it over the Hokage's head.

"Maybe this will help." She said.

Tsunade finally paused to give her a grateful smile.

"Thank you…"

"Yakumi Hitomi."

Normally, Hitomi would've used her real last name of Shiranui but using that name would raise a few eyebrows.

"Thank you, Hitomi. I'm afraid I haven't seen you before."

"I'm sorry, Hokage-sama, but you have. I assisted you and Shizune last week with the inspection of the academy."

The Hokage shook her head. "Yes, I guess you're right. Come along with me."

Hitomi fell into step beside the hokage keeping her dry with what looked like an umbrella but was really her subtle powers to alter time and space.

They entered the Hokage mansion and entered a conference room with the two elders, Danzo and Shizune. The rain smashed against a window while the gray skyline of Konoha shimmered in the mist. Hitomi recognized the other four people from pictures she looked at awhile back.

"Sit down, Tsunade-hime." Koharu said.

Tsunade was going to sit down anyway regardless of what the elders wanted her to do. She disliked the elders to a point. She didn't think that they knew what they were talking about. They always wanted her to keep Naruto in the village when he was one of the more suitable ninjas for a mission. If she listened to them, Konoha would probably be in ashes right now.

Homura stood up to make it known that he held the floor. "According to Aoba's report, we lost four ninjas, the Sand lost a team, Aoba's team attacked a Mist ninja that was trailing them. The Mist ninjas 

witnessed this and proceeded to attack and kill four of our own and four of the Sand's, while Aoba's team managed to escape from Soukutsu. We have no ninjas over there now and it seems that the Mist have taken the island."

"The island was already theirs to begin with." Tsunade said.

Ignoring Tsuande's comment, Homura continued. "The Mist want to end its non aggressive pact with us and it seems that war is imminent. Needless to say, this doesn't look good."

"The Mist are one of the more closed off of the five major villages." Tsunade said. "In giving the Mist more and more control of Soukutsu, we were setting ourselves up for disaster."

Homura sat down and Danzo stood up. "We have a number of problems to address. First of all, what is our response to the Mist? I know what the diplomatic response will be, but we have to plan for diplomacy to fail. Do we send an army there to maintain control of the battle site?"

"Our control of the battle site was minimal at best." Koharu said. "It's nothing but a treasure trove for looters and I've heard stories about the place." She scoffed and waved her hand dismissively. "Well, those stories can't be true. But I say we don't risk another life in that graveyard, too many have died there already."

Hitomi figured it was hard to argue against such a stance. She looked around to see if Tsunade disagreed, but she was pensively silent.

"Doing nothing is probably easiest and best course of action right now." Koharu said.

Tsunade rolled her eyes. It would appear that these elders were afraid of conflict. Sure, Tsunade wanted to avoid conflict as well especially with the imminent Akatsuki threat. Her thoughts were interrupted with Homura speaking up.

"The next problem is this inquiry for Aoba, which is automatic under the circumstances. Yamashiro Aoba has always been a stalwart ninja but this matter is going to eat up his time and attention. We can't keep his team out of commission for that long."

"Shiranui Satori can lead the team. He's done it before and is qualified to do so." Koharu said.

Homura nodded. Danzo spoke up again. "Aoba should have a psychological evaluation. He's over due fore a complete workup. I think he should be removed from duty and we'd have time to set up the inquiry."

"So, we've got our scapegoat already picked out?" Tsunade said with a scowl.

"But this report clearly states…"

"So we are going to throw away a great career for one bad week?" She asked. "I want to make sure the Mist will be there to testify and present evidence. Because Aoba gets to face his accusers and they're 

going the ones who have to justify killing our ninjas. If you don't get the Mist to testify, there will always be questions about this affair."

"Fine. We'll use the inquiry as an excuse to keep in touch with the Mist. If they don't show up, Aoba will probably be acquitted due to lack of evidence, so something good will happen either way."

"We need to schedule a memorial service for the ninjas we lost." Tsunade said softly.

"That goes without saying." Homura said casting his troubled eyes downward. "Yohaku Junshin was also involved in these incidents. I believe he should be available as a material witness."

"I wish to represent Aoba during this inquiry."

"Fine. Danzo, you will on the tribunal instead of Tsunade-hime."

"I object." Tsunade said sharply. "Danzo has shown himself to be biased against Yohaku Junshin because he is from the Rock Village. When Junshin said he wanted to be a Leaf ninja, Danzo raised a complaint about an enemy ninja being brought into our village as one of our own. He's clearly prejudiced against a ninja who may prove to be my client also."

"You may want to reconsider your statement, Tsunade-hime." Danzo said. "By Yohaku Junshin's own report, he thought he was hallucinating. It's well known that the Rock do not like the Mist."

"The Rock don't like us either." Tsunade snapped.

Ignoring her words, Danzo continued. "I doubt he'll make a credible witness or defendant."

"So we have two scapegoats." Tsunade said.

"Mistakes were made at Soukutsu and we lost four leaf ninjas."

Tsunade held up a hand to stop Homura and she stood up.

"It's probably best we do not discuss this any further. I have work to do and a case to prepare for."

She turned and walked out the door with Shizune and the nondescript chuunin following her. Hitomi didn't need to read any of the reports because she had witnessed the events. Like most tragedies, this one had been equal parts of stupidity, heroism and unpredictable forces.

In the hallway, she had to call out to stop the Hokage, who had all but forgotten about her. "Hokage-sama!" She shouted. "I've got other duties to attend to but I'll be there when you need me."

"Thank you." She said.

"Good-bye, Hokage-sama."

By the time the chuunin had left her presence, Tsunade had forgotten both her name and face.


	14. Possibilities of a Settlement

Hanako walked into the Konoha hospital and to the office of Dr. Mizo Jimen. He had called her to meet with him to discuss something. The doctor's amber eyes gazed up as she knocked on the door.

"Come in." He said.

Hanako stepped into the office unsure of why she was called there.

"Ah, Hanako. It's good to see you. Please sit down."

"It's good to see you too." Hanako said taking her seat.

"How are things?" Jimen asked.

"They could be better with all things considered." Hanako said.

"Well, you guys did have a close call."

"We've had plenty of close calls over the years and we'll survive this one too."

The doctor frowned. "Listen, Hanako, it didn't seem like much at the time but now people are talking about it. Can you tell me anything else about the injury that Aoba suffered against the scavengers?"

Her eyes narrowed, and she answered hesitantly. "It was in my report. He inhaled an unknown muscle toxin that briefly paralyzed him. This toxin wasn't intended to kill just disable. It did the job quite well. He was recovering by the time Satori and Junshin brought him to me. Why? What are you getting at?"

"Just filling in a few blanks." Jimen said.

Hanako was trying to think of a way to graciously exit the conversation. She didn't like where this was headed.

"What's Aoba's frame of mind?"

She tried to act nonchalant, but her sense was pinging. He was digging for information. "He's a little on edge, which is understandable. We all are. What's your frame of mind?"

Dr. Mizo laughed uneasily. "You know, Hanako, I'm going to retire soon and I'm training my replacement, which leaves an opening in his spot. It's yours if you want it."

"Head up the Medical Ninja Corps," she mused. "I don't think right now is the time, especially when he needs me the most."

Jimen gave a nervous chuckle. "What do you mean? Who needs you?"

"I mean the tone of this conversation," she answered coldly. "We wouldn't be talking about this unless Aoba-sensei was in for a miserable time. What do you have planned for him? You aren't thinking of relieving him of his team?"

The doctor frowned. "He's going to be temporarily relieved of his team and placed under psychological observation. That is confidential information which you cannot divulge."

"You know he doesn't deserve that." Hanako snapped.

"I was hoping you would give me an honest assessment but I realize you're not objective."

"I hope you're as open-minded as you are objective." Hanako grumbled. She almost got up and walked out the door but she stayed to see what he would say next. "Are you really ordering me not to tell Aoba-sensei that he'll be placed in a hospital for evaluation?"

"Yes," Jimen answered gravely. "If he finds out in advance, I'll hold you responsible. Hanako, if you were killed in peacetime by the actions of another Konoha ninja, I hope your ghost wouldn't mind an investigation."

"All right, Doctor, you've made your point." She looked towards the window of the office that looked out into the hallway and saw an unfamiliar female nurse that seemed familiar even though Hanako had never seen her before.

"Can I count on you to keep this to yourself?"

"Yes." She said hesitantly while getting up and leaving the office. "Good bye, doctor."

Shortly later, Hanako stood on the door step of Yamashiro Aoba. He came to the door after she knocked twice. He was wearing his standard uniform without the vest and head protector. He was obviously off duty.

"Hanako? This is unexpected. Come in."

He could see her twisting her hands nervously. She paced to his table where she saw a picture of team four when they were first formed, Arihiro, Satori, her and Aoba. I've been ordered not to talk to you about something, but I have to talk to you anyway."

He sighed and held up his hand. "You're worried about what's going to happen to me. I'm prepared for anything."

"Are you prepared to lose your team and be committed to a hospital for a psychological evaluation?"

"Uh, no." Aoba answered. "I'm sure that's standard procedure under these circumstances. Tsunade-sama has volunteered to be my counsel and we have Junshin's testimony about the mimic ninja. Plus, I have the support from a lot of the people here in the village."

"That you do, Aoba-sensei." Hanako said mustering a brave front. "Just act surprised when they tell you that you're going to be evaluated."

He placed a comforting hand on his teammate's shoulder. "I will, don't worry. Nothing is going to happen."

Hitomi sat quietly in a corner of the conference room of the Hokage mansion. She and the Mist prosecutor, Keiryaku aima were the only ones in the room. Aima tapped her finger nervously on a scroll as they waited for the start of the meeting. Aim was from the Mist village who ended up being Aoba's prosecutor and was going against Tsunade. She had dark eyes that matched her dark brown hair that went to her shoulders. Her Mist forehead protector was positioned around her forehead. She didn't look too much older than twenty nine. It was something that Hitomi didn't want to miss. She almost hoped this meeting would fail to produce a settlement. On the other hand, she wished the best for her parents' friend and teacher.

The door to the conference room opened. Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, Shizune and Yugito Honya. strode into the room. The hokage acknowledged Hitomi's presence with a nod; however Honya looked right past her. Honya stood next to Aima. Honya had blonde hair that was in a pony tail that hung down to her loose fitting belt. Hitomi had done her homework and knew that Honya was the twin sister of Yugito Ni that Jinchuuriki of the two tailed cat.

"Have you reviewed all of the reports that were filled out by the team?" Aima asked.

"I have." Tsunade said. "I don't feel that the reports offer prime evidence that Aoba did anything wrong. It's just an interpretation of events from one point of view with limitations. We don't' have any hard proof to prove either side. It's basically his word against yours."

"Our colleges should be here any minute now. They're coming here for an apology. If Aoba will admit to provoking us then this inquiry will be quick and we all can move on."

Tsunade held up a hand. "Hold on. The Mist had no justification for attacking the newly arrived Leaf or Sand ninjas. Besides, it was the scavengers who were doing all the provoking. They're the ones who kept the Soukutsu battle site in turmoil and contributed to the short fuses that everyone had. Soukutsu is still a dangerous area which we can prove."

"So are you claiming mistaken identity? Friendly fire?" Honya asked.

Hitomi could tell that Tsunade was trying to remain cordial. "No." She answered slowly as if speaking to a child. "Aoba ordered to attack a ninja that was an imminent threat to his team. The Mist didn't attack the innocent Leaf and Sand ninjas not in self-defense but out of revenge. You are the ones that should be on trial."

"Seeing a comrade killed in battle without reason, our actions seem understandable to us."

_Naturally, you're the ones who did the attacking. _Hitomi thought to herself.

"The only basis that Yamashiro Aoba had for this attack was the information supplied by the former Rock ninja Yohaku Junshin. He had no first hand knowledge of this mimic ninja, so he could be mistaken or misinformed. We'll all understand if he just apologizes and accepts responsibility for a mistake."

Tsunade folded her arms and leaned back in her chair, frowning.

"So your strategy is to discredit Junshin?"

"Junshin has to convince the tribunal as he convinced Aoba that the ninja that was killed was in fact a mimic ninja."

_This is going to be a pain in the ass._

Shortly later, Aoba and Junshin met with Tsunade, Shizune and Hitomi.

"From now on, you two have to watch what you say. All of Konoha is watching you. If asked anything, it's best to say that you can't comment." Tsunade said.

Aoba mustered an appreciative smile. "I want to thank you, Hokage-sama for representing us. I know we were involved in this tragic incident but I fail to see how this will be as time consuming as you say it is."

"Aoba," She said sternly. "You don't seem to realize the trouble you're in. Not only does the peacetime death of four Leaf ninjas require an inquiry, but you're accused of killing a ninja without provocation."

"We did not kill a real Mist ninja. It was a mimic." Junshin said right before Aoba could say anything.

"What you saw and what you believe can prove two different things." Tsunade said gazing at Junshin. "You, Junshin, are the only one that can keep Aoba from losing his team, unless he wants to take the deal I was offered on his behalf." She sighed and took a few steps around the area. "Their offer is very generous. You would have to take responsibility for killing their ninja and the subsequent Mist attack on the Leaf and Sand teams. Do that and it will stop the inquiry. The Mist won't go to war with us and your team can go on its merry way."

"No." Aoba said. "I won't do it. Junshin saw two identical ninjas."

"Junshin's testimony is problematic. It was mentioned that he thought he was hallucinating at the time."

"I can't believe this." Aoba said. "So I have to lie to get out of this? This is ridiculous." He paced around. The Mist would get to absolve themselves of blame for killing the two teams. Everyone figured that Aoba's record was strong enough to survive this, especially if he helped to whitewash it over. It was easier to put one man on trial than an entire village, also easier to dredge up a stock apology than the truth."

Junshin frowned slightly. "Aoba-sensei, you shouldn't do it. We made some mistakes at Soukutsu but we were not at fault for the death of our friends. To say we were is wrong."

Aoba smiled at his trusted friend and patted him on the shoulder. "An old Konoha poet once said, 'Truth is a gem found at great depth; whilst on the surface of the world, all things weighed by the false scale of custom.'"

"I don't blame you for holding your ground. We all know I'd be doing the same thing. We have to realize the holes in our defense plus we have political forces working against us. If you turn down the settlement, then we'll have no control over the outcome." Tsunade said.

"I've charged into trouble before without knowing the outcome. Just do your best Hokage-sama."

Tsunade did her best to front a smile then turned to Hitomi who had an open scroll in her hands.

"What's their schedules?"

"Aoba is to report to the hospital for an evaluation while Junshin is to report to the Interrogation Headquarters to meet with Morino Ibiki. The memorial service will be held tonight to which they both can attend."

"Dismissed." Tsunade said.

Aoba and Junshin leapt in opposite directions. As Aoba leapt above the rooftops, he could barely remember what the Hokage's aide looked like.


	15. Counselor Kaunsera Kana

Aoba reached the hospital and walked into the lobby. He didn't even have his second foot in the door when a voice called his name.

"Yamashiro Aoba." An attractive blonde haired girl no older than twenty came up with her hand extended. "This is a pleasure. I'm Counselor Kaunsera Kana."

Aoba mustered a smile and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you, Counselor Kaunsera."

"You know," she said winsomely, "we're going to be seeing an awfully lot of each other for a bit, so I want you to relax. I might help if we call each other by our first names unless that is too awkward."

_Get along to go along. _Aoba told himself. _This is not the time or place to cause trouble._

"Certainly, Kana. Do I need to go into admittance."

"No, all of your paperwork had been filled out." She said slowly moving towards the stairs. "Did you know it took me several hours to read through all of your exploits? They were very fascinating to read."

They reached a set of double doors that led to the stairway. They walked up three flights of stairs and then down a hallway that was slight away from the other rooms. Aoba noticed a sign on the wall that said Gen Ward.

"Gen Ward?" Aoba asked curiously.

"You're going to like your room, Aoba. In fact we have a lot of visitors who don't want to leave. We place a person in a room and the room itself changes into a place where the visitor feels most comfortable. You could choose your current house but that really wouldn't be much of a vacation. You could even choose a bungalow on the beach in the south of the Fire Country or the sky slopes of the islands north of the main land."

Aoba became quite disarmed by this charming young lady. In due time they came to a room marked 317. Aoba began to get nervous. _Just think of it as a vacation._

They stepped into a nondescript suite: sitting room, bedroom, and a nicely appointed kitchen although the furnishings were a bit drab and spare.

"Would you like to have lunch with me, Aoba?" She asked cheerfully. "That will be in about two hours."

"Sure." He answered. "Kana, are you the only person I'll be seeing here?"

"From the staff, probably," she answered. "I believe a couple of people have asked to visit you…team members and Tsunade-sama. They'll be here this afternoon. The genjutsu can also give you a few generic companions to play shugi with, talk to or whatever you like. All you have to do is visualize what you want and it will encompass you. I'll see you in a couple of hours. I'll bring lunch so don't eat too much."

As soon as she was gone, Aoba closed his eyes and tried to imagine someplace relaxing. Then it hit him. It was a place that he and his parents had gone when he was only a kid, a place that he found very relaxing to think about. It was a log cabin in the woods in the northern part of the mainland near the Waterfall country. When he opened his eyes again he found himself in the den of a log cabin. It was perfect right down to the woodsy smell and lyrical bird calls from beyond the walls. The furnishings were of fine craftsmanship. Tired from all of the events that have taken place and finding very hard to just relax, he found the bed. He pushed down on the plump bed, and found that it was exactly as he remembered the bed was from his childhood. He threw himself on top of the goose down and sank as if it were quicksand. Seconds later he was out.

Aoba awoke from his nap feeling refreshed. When his door opened minutes later, he irrationally considered running out but he knew that wouldn't do his case much good. Kaunsera Kana entered carrying a basket. She set it down on the rustic dining table and opened the lid. She pulled out chopsticks, glasses and food. Once sitting down at the table and started eating their food, Kana was the first to speak up.

"First of all, Aoba, do you understand why you're here?"

"All to well," he answered. "A mission went terribly wrong and two teams were killed. Whenever that happens, the team leader is held responsible. An inquiry is standard procedure."

"Do you think you could have avoided what went wrong?" Kana asked.

The answer didn't come quickly, and he finally said, "I've asked myself that several times. I doubt if you've ever been to the Soukutsu island, but there are determined scavengers trying to get to the bodies before we can. WE only have a handful of ninjas to stop them. Plus the weird things going on at Soukutsu which we can't explain."

"Tell me about them. I'd like to hear." She asked eagerly.

Whether that was true or not, he told her about the vortex of spinning debris and broken bodies and the dangerous chakra spikes and finally the doppelganger entity. Kana was very attentive, listening silently as she ate. Aoba actually welcomed the opportunity to tell his story in one coherent whole. He might as well get used to it, he decided, because he would be telling this story over and over again.

"Having perfect hindsight, could I have avoided the disasters of this mission?" He asked rhetorically. "Yes, but in practical terms, I don't think I could have, because something is at work on that island. The thing I really regret is having retreated from Soukutsu when I know something deadly is lurking there."

Kana's pretty face frowned slightly. "You understand, Aoba, there are different opinions as to what happened there?"

"Not among my team." He answered.

The counselor nodded thoughtfully. "Your team is loyal to you. Did you have a feeling of helplessness about this assignment?"

Aoba tried not to smile at the question or take umbrage. "No, I didn't feel helpless. I felt frustrated, overextended, determined to make a difference despite our odds. I really hope to go back to Soukutsu and correct what I can. We have to understand those mysteries or we can't let anyone there."

"Then it's still unfinished business for you?"

"It's still unfinished business for everyone or we wouldn't be having this conversation."

Kana sat back in her chair and tapped her delicate chin. "You've used the term 'haunted' to describe what you found at Soukutsu. Normally, those terms don't go over real well in Konoha."

"I'm a very rational person. As you can see from my record, I haven't always lived in a rational world. 'Haunted' is a word Sabaki from the sand used to describe Soukutsu."

"After all you've been through, how is it that you want to still return to the Soukutsu battle site?"

The jonin cocked his head and looked at the fine pine beams holding up the sloped cabin roof. He listened to the birds chirping and the rustle of pine trees in the noonday breeze, as he gave her question genuine reflection. "There's an old saying about getting back on your horse after you've been thrown off." Aoba cringed at an old memory. "I've gone up against Akatsuki members, the same ones that killed my friend, Sarutobi Asuma; I've fought Reapers and fought off the invading Sound ninjas during the Chuunin exam. I've tried not to think of my personal safety, just my duty and my loyalty. Does that answer your question?"

"You're going to make a very convincing witness." Kana admitted with an encouraging smile.

"I hope so." Aoba replied.

The counselor pushed her plate away and pulled out a scroll. She had to consult to it for her next question. "Years ago, when you were still a chuunin with your former team, you and your team were in the northern part of the Fire Country where you destroyed an innocent village without any provocation. That village posed no threat to anyone.

"No, wait!" Aoba protested. "We were not in our right minds. WE had amnesia, and we were being used by the Rock."

"Kaunsera Kana smiled. "Then you admit that you can be duped into making a mistake?"

Aoba scowled, sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. "Is the questioning going to go on like this?"

"Yes, for some time," she answered coldly. "I also have several questions about the Mist and your attitude towards them. After that, there's a psychological test to fill out. Sit back, Aoba, and cooperate. You really don't have any choice."

Aoba nodded wearily and resolved to take whatever they threw at him with grace and calm, for as long as he could.


	16. The Memorial Service

Outside of the Konoha Interrogation building, Shiranui Satori paced nervously. Twice he had been told that Junshin would come down to meet him. He hoped so. The two of them were supposed to meet up with Yukino and Tenten and then head to the memorial service. Both Aoba and Junshin had disappeared from the daily life of Konoha early that morning without saying much to anyone. Satori had thought that Junshin would have his meeting and then come and find either Tenten or himself. But Junshin hadn't returned all day. Satori had tracked his friend down by talking to Tsunade.

"Shiranui Satori?"

It wasn't so much a question as it was a statement. He turned expecting to see someone he knew. Instead it was a green a red eyed chuunin that had some resemblance but he couldn't place it.

"I'm Yakumi Hitomi." She said. "You still haven't gotten in to see Yohaku Junshin?"

Hitomi felt a bit odd talking to her father like this. He had no idea who she really was and she planned to keep it that way unless she needed to reveal herself. She did feel closer to her mother than her father maybe it was because she had been around her mother a lot longer than her father. Her father was killed by the Akatsuki leader Pein. After years of training with Sasuke's help she was able to avenge her father by defeating Pein herself. Her thoughts were interrupted by Satori answering.

"No, I've just gotten the runaround." Satori answered with frustration. "We've got to go to that memorial service."

"Yes, that's why I'm here." She said. "Let's go spring him."

"There's one problem." Satori pointed to a hulking Konoha ninja standing by the doorway. It was obvious that security has been strengthened. He sincerely hoped that wasn't because of Junshin.

Hitomi ambled slowly toward the door and motioned for Satori to follow. "Don't say a word as we walk past the guard." She warned. "If he sees you're with me, he won't say a word. But if we stop to talk, he might have to make a show of stopping us."

"Whatever you say." Satori replied with a curious look at the unassuming chuunin.

The big security guard didn't even seem to look at them as they walked past him. Satori was a bit surprised as they entered the room.

"So you must come here a lot." Satori remarked.

"I get around." She said. "In fact, I know a way to duck out of this building with Junshin."

"I bet you do." Satori said impressed. _So this is Tsunade-sama's fixer._ He thought to himself. Hitomi was certainly the kind of person no one would look at twice. However her two different color eyes did seem a bit odd. Hitomi had a vagueness about her that was peculiar. They arrived outside the interrogation room. Once again, there were plenty of security ninjas around. The two of them walked right up to the door and past the security ninja, who appeared momentarily confused. Satori spotted Junshin inside the room sitting in a chair surrounded by interrogators. Yamanaka Inoichi stood nearest to Junshin.

"Shiranui Satori, you aren't authorized to be here."

Junshin looked up to see his friend and smile appeared on his face.

"He can come back tomorrow for his interrogation. Right now he's got to go to a memorial service." Satori insisted.

"This is on his approved schedule." Hitomi added.

"Are these two bothering you, Inoichi-dono." A security ninja said appearing next to them.

"Not yet, but they might be soon." Inoichi said. "Give us fifteen more minutes."

"I've given you an hour and fifteen minutes," Satori insisted walking towards Junshin. "I've been outside waiting for that long."

"Here are orders from Tsunade same." Hitomi said handing a scroll to Inoichi.

"The orders are valid," Inoichi muttered. "But we have our orders, too. He can go, but I want him back tomorrow."

"Whatever." Satori said. "Are you all right?"

Junshin nodded. "I'm fine, just that these questions are a real pain in the ass."

As they walked down the hall, Satori studied Hitomi a bit closer. "Is there something wrong, fath…Satori-kun." Hitomi asked noticing his attention.

"It's nothing. You just seem so familiar."

"I get that a lot."

When they got outside, Hitomi stopped. "I have to make sure Aoba gets to the service, too."

"Thanks for your help, Hitomi-san." Satori said.

Hitomi nodded and then leapt away.

"She's been very helpful." Junshin said.

"Agreed." Satori said feeling a bit tired. "Doesn't she look like someone?"

"She does but I can't think of who though."

"So, Yukino and I would like to get everyone together to go out tonight after the memorial service."

"That would be good. It will distract our minds."

Yamashiro Aoba stood in his room waiting for Kaunsera Kana to arrive. He had finished his questionnaire about a half hour ago. He didn't think he had sent up any red flags; no one should conclude that he had a murderous personality. The jonin had spent the last hour answering questions about the Mist and he wished he understood them better. He sensed something was up with them and Soukutsu. Something like they were hiding something. Then there was a knock on the door.

"Enter." He said.

Kaunsera Kana entered.

"I see you finished all of your work. Thank you." She said, back to acting cordial but insipid.

"Are you going to the service, too?"

Kana nodded. "Where you go, I go. Until I release you for the inquiry, you're in my custody. But I'll have to share you, because you have two other women waiting for you in the lobby."

"Let me guess," Aoba said with a smile. "Tsunade-sama and Hanako."

"I'm probably in for it, aren't I?" She asked worriedly.

"Yes." Aoba answered. I'll try to protect you from them."

They stepped into the corridor and it felt wonderful to get out of his cage. As they walked towards the staircase, they passed a female attendant, who nodded pleasantly at Aoba. Her face was oddly familiar, and the jonin glanced back at her. But the attendant was moving swiftly in the other direction.

"Who is that attendant?" Aoba asked.

"What attendant?" She responded. They both glanced behind them, but there was no one there.

Once out of the staircase and entering the lobby, Aoba felt like a matinee idol as he was surround by doting women.

"Shall we go?" Aoba asked.

They all headed to the top of the Hokage mansion where they met up with Satori, Junshin, Yukino and Tenten. They found the top to be filled with other ninjas of all ranks and family of the lost team. The family members were easy to spot, because they pointed Aoba out to each other and glared at him. Although, in Aoba's mind, they should already be aware of the type of lives ninjas live.

As promised, Kaunsera Kana seldom left his side, although she was content to converse with Yukino and Tenten while eavesdropping on his conversation with Hanako. They struggled to find topics of discussion, as did Junshin and Satori. It was difficult not to talk about the inquiry or reassure each other that all would end well. But Aoba was adamant; he refused to discuss his own troubles when they seemed so trivial compared with the grief of those who had lost loved ones. Yokaze Katianna's teammate Hataraku Botan came up to talk first. He introduced himself and pointed out Katianna's family in the front row, all wearing Konoha forehead protectors except for her mother. Her two brothers were chuunins. He pointed out that Katianna had always volunteered for the toughest assignments and Soukutsu was certainly that.

It was difficult for Aoba to listen to the eulogy. He felt for these people. The accusatory stares made him uncomfortable, but he knew the whole point of being here was not to be comfortable. It was to show respect for the lost lives. Three family members of others slain spoke on behalf of those who couldn't speak owing to time constraints, and their brief, tearful remarks made the veteran jonin misty-eyed.

Tsunade spoke last. He mentioned the fallen's distinguished record, mentioning awards for valor. Tsunade's speech was long and detailed. It gave bored audience members ample opportunity to look Aoba's way.

_No, I haven't sprouted any horns._ Aoba wanted to tell them. He tried to concentrate on Tsunade's remarks.

Tsunade concluded by addressing the current problem. "As we face inquiries and investigations into the tragic loss of this team, it's important to remember one thing: Konoha is all one family. We're not always a happy family, we make mistakes and face adversity, but we have respect for each others and our shared duties and goals. One of those goals is not to put fellow ninjas in needless, avoidable danger. I'm afraid the elders and I failed on that account, for not recognizing how dangerous the Soukutsu Battle Site is. I apologize to all of you for that."

Tsunade left the front of the memorial and allowed for people to leave a flower for the perished.

Later that night, the group including Tsunade, Shizune, Genma, Yashira, Seika, Gin as well as Yukino's parents all sat in a restaurant enjoying dinner or at least trying to. Like earlier today, they found it hard to talk about anything else other than what was going on. Satori and Yukino sat next to each other. They weren't exactly eating much. Genma noticed and called them out on it.

"What's wrong? You're usually on your second helping getting ready to go on your third right now." He joked.

Satori glanced at Yukino who lightly squeezed his hand underneath the table showing support. A smile slightly appeared on his face. Genma noticed the look as well as Yashira. Naturally, they knew something was up being his parents. Tenten could also feel her brother's uneasiness.

"What's wrong, Nii-chan?"

Practically ignoring his sister's question, his eyes remained fixed on Yukino's, who nodded at him. The two of them stood up still holding hands.

"We have something to tell you guys." Satori said.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up at the two Jonins.

"I'm pregnant." Yukino said.


	17. Findings

"Don't be nervous, we'll be fine." Tsunade told Aoba as they sat be a table in the inquiry room. That was the confident tone of voice she used when sending people on a particularly dangerous mission. The room was somber and dark. Everyone conversed in whispers, as if enemies were hiding a few centimeters away. Aoba looked for supporters in the crowd but he found none; his teammates or anyone connected with the Soukutsu incident had to wait to be called. As before at the memorial service, people either stared at him or avoided his eyes, naturally they couldn't tell if he was looking at them or not because of his sunglasses. He finally noticed Hitomi seated in the first row behind Tsunade and next to Shizune. The girl gave Aoba an encouraging smile.

The doors at the back opened, and two female Mist ninjas walked in.

"Your prosecutor," Tsunade whispered. "Yugito Honya and her aide Keiryaku Aima."

Finally Homura, Danzo and Koharu walked in and sat down. Homura wasted little time getting to business. "During a mission to the Soukutsu battle site we lost four Leaf ninjas in peacetime action. This is an inquiry to establish the facts of these tragic losses and to see if further action is required.

He looked toward the prosecution table. "Yugito Honya, what is the finding you wish to reach?"

"We will prove that Yamashiro Aoba did with malice and aforethought cause an unprovoked attack on the Mist."

Homura sighed heavily. "What evidence do you wish to present to support these petitions?"

"We would like to use ANBU members to use a technique that will go into the memories of those present at the time of the attack. We will also present testimony from Sohma Yukino, Uzuki Hanako, Yohaku, Junshin, Shiranui Satori, Shiranui Tenten, Kusa Seika, and Zaihou Gintokin. Our first witness is Counselor Kaunsera Kana, who has evaluated Yamashiro Aoba since his return to Konoha.

Aoba leaned back in his seat, realizing he was going to be here a long time, and very little of it was going to be pleasant.

"In your opinion, Kaunsera Kana, is Aoba fully competent to undergo these proceedings and any further actions this inquiry may choose to pursue?" Honya asked.

"He is competent." She answered as she looked at Aoba for the first time since entering the room.

"Does he understand the charges which may be leveled against him?"

Kana pursed her lips, and Aoba wondered why she was hesitant. "No, he does not. He believes that he didn't kill a real Mist ninja. Whether he clings to delusion or fact, I don't think he'll ever accept the contention that he killed that Mist ninja."

"Was he in sound mind while at Soukutsu?"

"I believe he was, yes."

"In your experience, how would you characterize Aoba's mental state now?"

Kana lifted her delicate chin to say, "He is suffering from grief, guilt and low grade depression, all of which are understandable. He makes a valiant effort to maintain his good humor."

"Is he fit to serve now?" Honya asked.

"Objection." Tsunade blurted. "May be approach?"

Homura waived her off. "I was just going to overrule that myself. If there are no objections, I'm going to dismiss the counselor for now."

Tsunade and Honya both shook their heads. As Kana walked out the door without looking at Aoba, Tsunade leaned close to Aoba. "It was interesting what she did for you just now. I'll tell you later."

"I'd like to call Kusa Seika, Zaihou Gintokin, Shiranui Satori, Shiranui Tenten, Uzuki Hanako, Sohma Yukino and Yohaku Junshin. I'd like Leaf ANBU members to perform a technique that recall their memories."

Homura nodded. The doors opened and the aforementioned walked into the room just as three cloaked ANBU members leapt onto the scene. Gintokin, Seika, Satori, Tenten, Hanako, Yukino and Junshin sat in the seven chairs that were presented in front of the three elders. The ANBU member in the white cloak and cat like mask approached them.

"We're going to put you under reverse hypnosis." He said.

"This hypnosis will pull out what we want to know from your latent memories." Another said with a bird like mask.

"Just relax." The leader said as he did handseals. Dog, Snake, Ox, Bird, Tiger. "Jigyaku no jutsu." (Time Reversal Technique)

Slowly, the seven of them closed their eyes and went limp. They looked as if someone from the Yamanaka clan used Shintenshin no Jutsu on them. Their heads were drooped forward and their arms fell to the side.

"Now go back to the incident at the Soukutsu battle site. Back to the point where you encountered the Mist ninja."

Without moving anything but their mouths, they began to speak.

"Aoba-sensei, I'm seeing someone headed our way. Its body heat is different from ours."

"I'm seeing the same thing."

The ANBU member in white interrupted the scene by asking, "You two have activated your Sekigan eyes at this point?"

Satori and Yukino nodded.

"Aoba-sensei, I suggest we get out of here." Junshin said. "Because I saw this Mist ninja die at the hands of the doppelganger. Plus, Satori and Yukino both said its body heat is different from ours."

"We can't let this thing get close to us. We'll end up like the rest of the people here, dead." Junshin said.

"The distance is closing." Seika said.

"We need to kill it before it can kill us." Junshin said.

Aoba saw Koharu shift in her seat and Homura frown deeply in thought.

"There's no doubt in my head. We need to kill it. If this thing were to imitate any of us, it would wreak untold havoc in Konoha."

"It's almost within arms reach." Seika said

"Aoba-sensei, I suggest we kill it now. We are in great danger. If that thing gets a hold of any of us, we'll all in serious trouble." Junshin said.

"This is provocation enough." Seika said. "She almost had me that time."

"It's now or never, Aoba-sensei." Junshin said.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." Hanako and Satori said in unison.

"Yamashiro Aoba gave the order to attack at this point?"

They all nodded.

"Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu." Satori said.

"Raikyuu no Jutsu." Hanako said.

"Kaze no Yaiba no Jutsu." Gintokin said.

"And this was the final attack that killed the Mist ninja."

Gintokin nodded.

Aoba knew what came next. Katianna and her team showed up along with Sabaki and her team to help them fight the enraged Mist ninjas.

"It must've been like this during the Battle of Soukutsu." Yukino said. "The mimic caused mistaken identity, deadly hostilities, vengeance with no chance to surrender. No wonder there was no record of all this."

"This was when the Mist squad appeared to fight, right?"

They all nodded.

"Hanako and I are leaving our clones here to help out." Satori said.

Hanako and Satori gasped.

"All dead." Satori said.

"Did someone use an explosive tag?" Seika asked.

"Not sure. I just know that everyone that was there just died." Hanako said.

It was like they were all having a conversation with themselves. The scene really didn't make any sense just by hearing them talk. You had to be there to know how this scene played out but of course if all these people were there then this inquiry wouldn't be taking place right now.

The ANBU members dispelled the jutsu and the seven ninjas awoke from their trance.

"I'd like to call, Uzuki Hanako. The rest of you may leave." Honya said.

The others got up and left. With her most professional demeanor, she answered questions about the paralysis Aoba had suffered when he was gassed by the scavengers. There was no sugar coatingthe fact that he had been physically incapacitated by the muscle toxin, and he might have died if not for the quick arrival of Satori and Junshin. After Honya was finished with her pain in the ass questions, it was Tsunade's turn to question her.

"Hanako, how long have you known Aoba?" She asked.

"I've known him for four almost five years now." She said proudly.

"And you have no doubt observed him under many circumstances and conditions? You have treated him for illness and injury numerous times. Have you ever classified Aoba as unfit for duty?"

"Once or twice."

"In your opinion, was Aoba incapacitated or unfit for duty when you examined him after arriving back at your temporary base camp?"

"No." Hanako answered.

Tsunade nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Hanako. No more questions."

"Next we would like to call Shiranui Satori." Honya said.

Satori was being questioned for a long time. The questioning was centered on him searching for the scavengers and allowing Aoba to be poisoned. This account brought nothing new for anyone to chew on, Aoba thought, as the paralyzing incident had been rehashed. Yugito Honya asked forthright questions without much bias. The story came out fairly accurately, Aoba decided. Satori walked out after he was finished being questioned and Junshin was next on the list. As he was questioned, Junshin's story coincided with Satori's. However, very little of Junshin's story could be proven. He was the only one to witness the mimic ninja in action. By his own admission, he continued to black out periodically. Then Honya's questioning took a bit of a turn.

"So you are originally from the Rock village and brother to the terrorist Akatsuki member Deidara, is that correct?"

"OBJECTION!" Tsunade said springing to her feet, slamming her fist down and damn near breaking the table in half. "No one is on trial here, least of all Yohaku Junshin."

"I'm asking his origins and his kin." Honya said. She looked back to Junshin expecting him to answer.

Junshin sighed and looked to his friends. "Yes, it's true. I'm from the Rock village and Deidara is my older brother."

It wasn't really news in Konoha. Everyone knew where Junshin had originated from but not many really knew that the Akatsuki member Deidara was his older brother.

"You're aware that a former Leaf ninja Uchiha Sasuke was responsible for your brother's death?"

Junshin nodded.

"A leaf ninja was responsible for your brother's death and you constantly interacted with a half Uchiha by the name of Anzen Shuji and some of the time wasn't too pleasant especially when he was going to kill your girlfriend Shiranui Tenten. Is it true that you killed Anzen Shuji during a mission not too long ago? It could be perhaps that you wanted revenge for your brother's death and the near death experience that your girlfriend faced."

Tsunade leapt from her seat to object but was waved off by Honya. She turned back around to face Junshin but saw the business end of Junshin's fist coming at her. She was caught completely off guard and was thrown back to her table by the force of the impact. Two ANBU members appeared next to Junshin and grabbed him by his arms. He didn't even bother to struggle.

"You don't know what the hell you're talking about. Deidara was my brother but he left on his own accord and he threatened the world by his association with Akatsuki and as for Tenten and Shuji. Leave them out of it. They have nothing to do with this case."

The two ANBU members escorted Junshin out of the room. Tsunade put her face in her hands.

"That really didn't help us any." She said.

Different Mist ninjas were being questioned after Junshin's departure. Some of them claimed to be survivors of the incident at Soukutsu. Under Honya's gentle questioning, they insisted they thought they were under attack when they turned on the Leaf team. After all, they had been battling scavengers all day and some of them were disguised as Leaf ninjas. The death of the Mist ninja right before their eyes left them no choice.

Appearing last, Aoba was questioned and answered all of Tsunade's questions truthfully as he could. Honya refused to ask him any questions at all.

He could do little but say, "Yes, I believed Junshin and I did everything I could to help my comrades." As Kaunsera Kana had predicted, he wouldn't be shaken from his belief in the mimic ninja. As she had also predicted, the result was a forgone conclusion. The elders had gone into seclusion and emerged about an hour later looking grim faced. Homura folding his hands in front of him as he stood in front of everybody.

"The inquiry has reached a finding on this matter. After hearing and reading the testimony presented, we find that Yamashiro Aoba acted negligently in not doing more to prevent this tragedy. That is our only finding at this time, but there may be further action in the future. Yamashiro Aoba will be in the custody of Konoha Medical Health."

There were a few gasps from the gallery, but neither Aoba or Tsunade were surprised. Aoba felt a pat on his back. He turned around to see an unassuming Hitomi, who looked crestfallen.

"It isn't over yet." She whispered.

Morose and really annoyed at the situation, Sohma Yukino wandered down the streets of Konoha. She walked by Yamanaka's Flower store and the scent of multiple flowers filled her nostrils. It smelled like a perfume store. But none of this brought her much solace. Walking through this area, Yukino couldn't help but think about what the future was bringing her and Satori. She even thought back to her days before being a ninja and even the days of being a Genin, then a Chuunin and now a Jonin.

_So much has happened to me in this place._ She mused. She placed a hand on her still flat but not for long stomach and lightly rubbed it.

"Mom." A gentle voice said that seemed to float with the breeze.

"My imagination." She said to herself, thinking she was going crazy. Then a shadow darkened her path, followed by a face with two different color eyes. She looked at the person and for some reason knew who the person was. A memory came to the front of her brain of when she was a child and a girl with the same style of eyes came to her. She gasped as she staggered backward, and the girl had to reach out to grab her. She gently touched the face and ran her fingers down the cheekbones and then through her hair.

"You're not a dream or a hallucination." Yukino said.

"No, mom, you know I'm real. I'm the real Shiranui Hitomi." Hitomi said.

Yukino slightly smiled at the name. She liked it. Hitomi took her mother out of the view of other people. Yukino marveled at the sight of Hitomi. She knew that people could transform into other people using the Henge no jutsu but something was telling her that this was legit.

"How..how are you here?" Yukino asked.

"I've come from twenty years in the future. A future that isn't one that anyone should grow up in." Hitomi said.

"Why have you come back now, Hitomi?"

After a second, Hitomi answered. "To save Konoha."

TO BE CONTINUED IN NARUTO SHIPPUUDEN: A TIME TO DIE


End file.
